Across the country, governments of all types are looking at how the opioid crisis is affecting their regions and communities. Both the federal Administration and Congress have issued new rules at the national level that reflect their cognizance of the concern and its causes. States, too, are addressing how their systems manage the crisis, including [...]
Despite notable guidance available in other arenas, more than two thirds (69.4%) of California's submitted WCMSA proposals include extended funding for opioid medications. The statistic is startling considering that Medicare itself does not recommend using opioids for long-term use or chronic pain. The National Alliance of Medicare Set-Aside Professionals (NAMSAP) and the National Council of [...]
The Mandatory Second Payer Act (MSP) prohibits the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS or Medicare) from making injury-related payments for Medicare beneficiaries if there's another carrier or provider with a primary obligation to do so. When working to settle an injury claim by a Medicare beneficiary, the parties to the case must take [...]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may be allowing an exception to the federal rule that asserts no state law will supersede its jurisdiction under any circumstances. An updated Reference Guide for Worker's Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Arrangements (WCMSA) version 2.6, suggests that CMS may be more willing than before to let state law [...]
On October 1, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was scheduled to stop paying for health care services that should, instead, be covered by parties deemed responsible for those damages pursuant to liability and no-fault insurance cases. In early 2017, the agency had announced that Medicare-beneficiary claimants in both liability and no-fault [...]
America is struggling to contain its nation-wide opioid epidemic, which has taken thousands of lives and crippled the lives of many thousands more. In mid-2016, President Obama signed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), the first federal law designed to provide a comprehensive, balanced, and coordinated strategy to improve access to and treatment for [...]
