Q&A: Observation Notice for Non-Medicare Patients

Q. Should the MOON notice be used only for Medicare or Medicare HMO patients or should it also be used for commercial insurance and Medicaid patients?

A. The instruction is that it is for Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage. Most hospitals have developed some kind of a notification for observation patients and in some states, the state has mandated a certain notice to be used. Certainly, that could be used for the non-Medicare patients and continuing on we’ll have to see when the final version of the MOON is published whether or not those states that require a specific notice will allow the Medicare notice to be used instead or if they're going to require both. 

Deborah Hale, CCS, CCDS, president and CEO of Administrative Consultant Service, LLC, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, answered this question.

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