July 16, 2026

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved updated versions of the Important Message from Medicare (IM) and Detailed Notice of Discharge (DND) forms for a three-year period. The revised notices feature improved readability and updated design enhancements.

Hospitals must provide the IM (CMS-10065) to all Medicare inpatient beneficiaries, including Original Medicare beneficiaries and Medicare Advantage enrollees. The IM informs beneficiaries of their rights to appeal a hospital discharge decision.

The DND should be issued only when a beneficiary requests a discharge appeal. The DND provides specific clinical and coverage reasons supporting the discharge decision.

Key Dates

Review the following important dates:

• Effective Date: Immediately
• Expiration Date: March 31, 2029
• Transition Deadline: Providers may continue using the previous forms until May 15, 2026, but must begin using the approved updated forms no later than that date.

Additional guidance can be found in Chapter 30, Section 200 of the CMS Claims Processing Manual.

For questions regarding implementation, please contact your Provider Relations Consultant.

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