Congress Gets SMART: What the SMART Act Means for Workers’ Compensation and Liability Professionals By Geoffrey C. Hudson – CEO, Axiom National On January 10, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers (SMART) Act of 2011. Though overshadowed by Congressional debate over...
The latest report from the Board of Trustees, released April 23, 2012, indicates Medicare and Social Security trust funds are both on "unsustainable paths" — as they have been for years — and will be exhausted by 2024 and 2033, respectively. The 2024 date for depletion...
A new online Self-Service Tool to help manage your Medicare recovery case. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is in the process of implementing a new web-based tool designed to assist in and accelerate the resolution of Liability Insurance, No-Fault Insurance, and Workers'...
The Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Contractor (MSPRC) published further guidance pertaining to the Self-Calculated Conditional Payment Option on January 16, 2012. Beneficiaries now have the ability to calculate conditional payment liens in liability cases under certain circumstances. The option can be exercised beginning February 21, 2012. The case must first...
The Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Contractor(MSPRC) announced on its website that CMS will be implementing an option that will allow certain Medicare beneficiaries to obtain Medicare's final conditional payment amount prior to settlement. This is consistent with its latest announcements establishing a $300 settlement threshold where, if all...
A recent study by NCCI Holdings, Inc. reports the top 10 most popular drugs prescribed for workers’ compensation claims. 1. OXYCONTIN® 2. LIDODERM® 3. HYDROCODONE-ACETAMINOPHEN 4. LYRICA® 5. CELEBREX® 6. GABAPENTIN 7. SKELAXIN® 8. CYMBALTA® 9. MELOXICAM 10. CYCLOBENZAPRINE HCL Workers compensation medical costs per claim average more than $6,000 and soar to nearly $25,000 for...
Kentucky Federal Court Finds Settlement Delay Due to Lien is Not Bad Faith....
According to the MSPRC website, www.msprc.info, Final Demands will resume on June 27, 2011; Here is the alert from the MSPRC: ALERT UPDATE: Review of the Rights and Responsibilities letter and the Demand Letters is completeReview of the Rights and Responsibilities letter (“RAR”) and the Demand...
On June 8, 2010, CMS provided clarification on their May 14, 2010 Memo with respect to language in submissions regarding Rated Ages(RA). Essentially they are now asking that organizations certify all rated ages obtained or that they are aware of since the date of loss....
CMS Memo dated May 14, 2010 provides some guidance regarding prescription drugs for off label and/or unlabeled outpatient uses, as well as verbiage regarding Rated Ages in the submission of a MSA to CMS. Please click on here for the complete Memorandum. ...