ICD-9 Codes
Benson v. Sebelius: Bad News for Plaintiffs?
This post has been delayed due to recent Medicare Alerts. We apologize for said delay; however, we believe the recent Medicare Alerts are a higher concern. We continue to monitor Medicare’s decision to halt issuance of Final Demands. For updates, please continue to visit this blog at lienblog.wordpress.com or follow our twitter feed @LienResolve. […]
Med Mal Reform & Lien Resolution
The AAJ and Daily Kos are reporting the Obama administration’s proposed budget includes $250 million in Justice Department grants to help state rewrite their medical malpractice laws along the lines of recommendations from the deficit commission. The grants are meant to help states pursue innovative reforms which improve health care quality, reduce medical costs, and […]
MMSEA – RRE Reporting Begins Oct. 1, 2010
President George W. Bush signed the Medicare Medicaid & SCHIP Extension Act (“MMSEA”) more than three years ago. On October 1st, 2010, its reporting section finally goes into effect. How will reporting change the Healthcare Lien landscape? How will it change Personal Injury Law? The Defense Fears The MMSEA turns defendant-insurers into Responsible Reporting Entities […]
CMS User Guide 3.1 Released
CMS has released User Guide 3.1 for MMSEA reporting. You can find a copy of the user guide on the Lien Resolution Services website, or, by clicking here. While most changes involve Responsible Reporting Entity (“RRE”) requirements, some of those changes will have a trickle down effect on plaintiffs, their Medicare liens, and plaintiffs’ attorneys. […]
Medicare Lien Appeals – The Five Levels
If you either (a) failed in your attempts to dispute MSPRC Conditional Payment Summaries, or, (b) simply did not dispute the Medicare lien prior to settlement, you have a series of options to reduce the client’s Medicare lien. While it isn’t really negotiating, we nonetheless term it, Negotiating With Medicare. The negotiation options: Compromise with […]
Medicare/MSPRC Delays Reach 109 Days
Yesterday, July 14, 2010, a Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Contractor (MSPRC) agent informed LRS that paper correspondence backlogs have reached 109 days. Unfortunately, this is 44 days longer than the longest time quote given for any MSPRC correspondence and remains a severe detriment to Medicare lien resolution. Fortunately, Lien Resolution Services has been able to […]
The Idiot’s Guide to Medicare Lien Resolution
Typically, Medicare liens are placed on the personal injury case of a person whose treatment is paid by Medicare. Medicare’s agents, the COBC, MSPRC, and CMS have a right to recover funds which would not have been paid without the negligent act which harmed the plaintiff-beneficiary. If you are the Medicare beneficiary and plaintiff in […]
Congress Reverses Medicare Payment Cuts
Last Thursday, the House voted 417-1 to reverse cuts for Medicare payments to doctors. The Senate had already voted the same a week earlier. According to CNN Money, the move will cost the federal treasury nearly $6.4 billion over ten years. These cuts have been blocked four times since January. In terms of Medicare liens […]
What if Medicare’s Lien Exceeds Client Recovery
What do you do if a Medicare lien exceeds your client’s recovery? Obviously, if Medicare were to take 100% of proceeds from a settlement or verdict, plaintiffs would have no motivation to file lawsuits. As a result, Medicare liens can be reduced through both automatic, and plaintiff-initiated processes. But remember, Medicare does not truly negotiate […]
Medicare Liens + Medicaid Liens: What is Left For The Plaintiff?
Medicare liens should never take more than one-third of any settlement or verdict amount. If you ever experience a situation where the MSPRC or CMS claims more than one-third of that amount you have made a mistake. Any lien resolution provider should quickly resolve such an issue. But, Medicare will never factor an ERISA lien, […]
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