Managing Undelivered Beneficiary Notification Letters with Mabel

Introduction:

CMS requires ACOs to send Beneficiary Notification Letters (BNLs) to newly aligned members on a quarterly basis (see guidance below). Additionally, ACOs are required to follow up on any undelivered mail/addresses and update them accordingly. Mabel’s Streamlined Beneficiary Notification Letters™ make the latter part of this process easier than ever; simply follow these steps:

Step 1: Download the list of recent Undeliverable BNLs

Log into app.getmabel.com; under Dashboards, select “Compliance”, then scroll down to “Undelivered Beneficiary Notification Letters”, and select the … in the top right, and “Download Full Results .xlsx”

Step 2 - Get Oriented

The downloaded spreadsheet (.xlsx) contains a number of important columns:

  • Patient demographics (name, MBI, birth date, undelivered patient address)

  • Provider information (provider name, NPI)

  • Other patient addresses on file (Column K - obtained from provider EMRs)

  • Spreadsheet columns to complete

    • Column O (PCP or Patient contact notes)

    • Column P (Updated address)

Step 3 - Update the Spreadsheet (Columns O & P)

Every row in Column O needs to be completed per CMS guidance. For Column P, only include updated addresses (leave blank if another address is not available). Some examples are below:

Step 4 - Upload Completed Spreadsheet to Mabel

After all rows for Column O have an entry, upload the completed spreadsheet to getmabel.com/upload.

See below for both the guidance from CMS and Mabel’s recommended beneficiary notification letter policy that can be added to your ACO’s handbook. If you have any questions about this process or policy, please reach out to your account manager or support@getmabel.com.

CMS Guidance
(Reference: GPDC Weekly Newsletter, March 4, 2022)

“If a letter is returned, the DCE should check with the beneficiary’s primary care provider (PCP) for a recent change of address or alternate address. If there is a different one, re-mail the annual beneficiary notice to that address. If there is not a different address, ask the PCP to contact the beneficiary by phone to obtain a current address or ask the PCP provide the DCE with the beneficiary’s phone number. If the letter is returned a second time, document your file accordingly. You may scan the returned envelopes as documentation.”

Mabel’s Beneficiary Notification Letter Policy
(Boilerplate language that can be added to ACO handbook)

Our third-party print vendor will provide us with a list of beneficiaries whose Beneficiary Notification Letters are returned to sender based on their USPS delivery status. We will electronically query or contact the beneficiary’s primary care provider (PCP) for a recent change of address or alternate address and document that contact. If PCP does not have a different address, we will attempt to contact the beneficiary by phone to obtain a current address. A Beneficiary Notification Letter will then be mailed to all updated addresses. Any subsequently returned letters will be also be documented by their USPS delivery status.