Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Medicare Secondary Payer and Future Medicals

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, June 15, 2012
Medicare Programs: Medicare Secondary Payer and Future Medicals:
A. CMS Proposed General Rule

    If an individual or Medicare beneficiary obtains a ``settlement'' 
and has received, reasonably anticipates receiving, or should have 
reasonably anticipated receiving Medicare covered and otherwise 
reimbursable items and services after the date of ``settlement,'' he or 
she is required to satisfy Medicare's interest with respect to ``future 
medicals'' related to his or her ``settlement'' using any one of the 
following options outlined later in this ANPRM.

Public comments

American Association for Justice (plaintiffs' lawyers organization) opposes the proposed  rule:

AAJ Opposes CMS Proposed Rulemaking on Medicare Repayment System
Rulemaking would create further delay for seniors and severely sick or injured
Washington, DC—The American Association for Justice (AAJ) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in opposition to the proposed rulemaking on future medical requirements in the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) system. MSP is a process to ensure Medicare is reimbursed for medical bills that are the responsibility of another party – such as an insurer or negligent party. The current proposal rulemaking would create further delays in the MSP system for both seniors and beneficiaries who are severely sick or injured.AAJ continues to support the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers (SMART) Act, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 1063) on March 14, 2011 and currently has 132 bipartisan cosponsors.  The Senate companion bill (S. 1718) was introduced on October 18, 2011 and currently has 19 bipartisan cosponsors. AAJ released a MSP primer detailing the lengthy delays and inconsistencies of the current system, which can be found here.

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