The Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator  has  announced the redesign of the statement that informs Medicare beneficiaries about their claims for Medicare services and benefits. The form will include the following new features:

• A clear notice on how to check the form for important facts and potential fraud;
• Clearer language, including consumer-friendly descriptions for medical procedures;
• Definitions of all terms used in the form; and
• Larger fonts throughout to make it easier to read.

The redesigned MSN is already available to beneficiaries who use  mymedicare.gov. In 2013, Medicare recipients who rely on paper copies of the Medicare Summary Notice (“MSN”) will start to recieve the redesigned form as well.

I recently wrote about new regulations that make it clear that Medicare should cover rehabilitation services that help patients maintain their current condition, even if they are not improving.  Among other benefits, he new MSN will make it easier for patients to make sure that reimbursement for rehabilitation services is not being terminated for a reason inconsistent with these regulations.