Texas Association of Orthotists & Prosthetists

Greetings!

REMINDER: NEW ABN FOR JANUARY 1, 2012

 The revised Advanced Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN), Form CMS-R-131, is issued by providers (including independent laboratories), physicians, practitioners, and suppliers in situations where Medicare payment is expected to be denied. The revised ABN replaces the ABN-G (Form CMS-R-131G), ABN-L (Form CMS-R-131L), and NEMB (Form CMS-20007).    

 

The newest version of the ABN and the instructions for use can be downloaded by clicking on the links below.

 

Revised ABN form and instructions

 

Revised ABN Manual instructions

 

Implementation Announcement 

We have been asked to share this with you by Medicare. Please contact them DIRECTLY if you have questions.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina (BCBSSC) purchased CGS Administrators, LLC (formerly CIGNA Government Services) from CIGNA Healthcare effective June 1, 2011. The final phase of the transition will occur January 13 - 16, 2012, which entails migrating CGS from CIGNA to BCBSSC networks and systems.

Please be aware of the following key changes occurring due to the transition:
  • The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system for all CGS lines of business will be unavailable from 5PM CT Friday, January 13 to 6AM CT Tuesday, January 17. Callers will receive an automated response explaining the unavailability during this time. Please note that all CGS call centers will be open for normal business hours on Friday, January 13 and Tuesday, January 17 and closed Monday, January 16 due to the scheduled Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
  • All CGS Outlook email accounts will be moved from CIGNA to BCBSSC after close of business on Friday, January 13, 2012.
  • Email addresses will be converted to a new @cgsadmin.com domain suffix. Email addresses formerly firstname.lastname@cigna.com will become firstname.lastname@cgsadmin.com.
  • Group Mailboxes will keep the same basic list name, but CGS will be added as a prefix wherever it doesn't already exist, references to CIGNA will be removed, and spaces in the name will be replaced with periods(.). These lists will also be converted to the new @cgsadmin.com domain suffix. For example, Cigna Group Mailbox@cigna.com becomes CGS.Group.Mailbox@cgsadmin.com.
  • Starting at 9AM CT on Friday, January 13, those who send an email to a @cigna.com email address will receive an email Out-of-Office response notifying the sender of the email address change. This Out-of-Office message will continue through January 31, after which senders will receive an Undeliverable notice.
  • All emails sent to the @cigna.com addresses through 5PM CT Friday, January 13 will be received. Any emails sent after 5PM CT will need to be resent to the @cgsadmin.com address because those emails will not be auto-forwarded to the new @cgsadmin.com address nor will CGS employees have access to the @cigna.com email.
 
Zita Upchurch |Provider Outreach and Education Sr. Analyst
CGS Administrators, LLC
Two Vantage Way
Nashville, TN 37228
Tel:  615-244-5600    Ext 2443348
Zita.Upchurch@CIGNA.com
Sincerely,
Mitch Presley, TAOP President
Texas Association of Orthotists & Prosthetists
SAN ANTONIO
9211 West Road, Ste. 143-116
Houston, Texas 77064
210-591-TAOP Office
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REMINDER
Reserve your room TODAY for the TAOP 2012 meeting in San Antonio.

The room block will sell out so please do not wait until the last minute.


If you are interested in presenting, please fill out the abstract and/or workshop information on the TAOP website right away as we are finalizing the program.

There are NO more available slots for Prosthetic Workshops.