Today marks yet another case where a plaintiff firm has entered into a settlement with Medicare over failure to consider Medicare’s interest with conditional payments. Like previous cases, the law firm will be required to pay a lump sum to the US government. In addition, they must:
1. Name a person responsible for paying Medicare secondary payer debts
2. Train the employee to ensure that the firm pays these debts on a timely basis
3. Review any additional outstanding debts to ensure compliance
4. Provide written certifications of compliance.
More details can be found in the press release here.
Over the past year, there has been a clear trend showing Medicare being very intentional about enforcing the MSP in liability cases. This case is just the latest to go along with several other recent cases:
- Nov 2019 US Attorney General – Baltimore plaintiff firm settles with Medicare for $91,406.98
- March 2019 DOJ – Maryland plaintiff firm settles with Medicare for $250k
- June 2018 DOJ – Philadelphia plaintiff firm settles with Medicare for $28k
We all know the MSP explicitly names liability insurance as a primary plan. In conjunction with the most recent round of notifications from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding the release of a NPRM clarifying methods of protecting Medicare’s interests post settlement for liability cases, these recent settlements with plaintiff firms highlight Medicare’s intent to have parties to liability settlements protect Medicare’s interests in compliance with the MSP just as is expected in Workers’ Compensation claims.
Partner with Medivest to help uncover public benefits, diagnose, and prepare preservation and legal compliance plans prior to settlement. MSP compliance is an exercise in protecting Medicare’s past interests via the investigation and resolution of payment obligations regarding past payments made by Medicare or Medicare Advantage Plans (liens) and its future interests regarding expected medical treatment in the injured party’s future (MSAs). Let our nursing staff perform a medical review to project the injury related future medicals broken down into both Medicare covered and non-Medicare covered medicals. For Medicare or any case involving recovery claims by any public or private source, allow our lien resolution department to use its proprietary software and experience to confirm amounts being requested are injury related and negotiate reductions beyond the ordinary procurement costs typically allowed. For Medicare cases, there is no charge for the portion of the reduction associated with those procurement cost reductions. Let us support you on your next case.
