Decades of continuing silence on the role of Medicare Set Aside (MSA) accounts in liability cases may prove disastrous in the face of the injuries and damages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. America's aging population is growing, and more people reach Medicare-eligibility every day. Any injuries they suffer due to the virus and its debilitating [...]
Incoming Changes to WCMSA Activities Even in the face of the health and civic challenges the country is enduring, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) maintains its pursuit its institutional goal of keeping its constituents current with evolving standards. Recently, the CMS issued two new directives, one for MSA calculations and one for [...]
For America’s employers, the COVID situation is creating havoc. Those who have shuttered their businesses for the duration of the crisis may not be able to open again once it subsides. Those who are open, however, especially those that offer essential services like grocery stores, are finding themselves facing workers’ compensation (WC) concerns that are [...]
Even before the COVID-19 virus situation was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), world events indicated that a future recession was possible. Now that we are living amidst the full force of the COVID-19 effect, it seems like a recession is inevitable. Further, the high numbers of newly unemployed workers and [...]
In the Workers’ Compensation (WC) world, evaluating the appropriateness of a Medicare Set Aside account (MSA) is (or should be) a standard case management practice for any person with a work-related injury who is nearing or over the age of Medicare or Medicaid eligibility. However, because setting up the MSA in a WC case remains [...]
In today's post, we are completing our series on the how's and why's of the Medicare Set Aside (MSA) account. Last year, we wrote about the evolution of worker protection laws, the role of third-party liability workplace injuries, and why America's Medicare system gets involved in injured worker cases. Next, we will explore how [...]
The Medicare and Medicaid systems are fundamental sources for healthcare services for America's seniors and disabled people. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) runs the healthcare networks that span the country and provide medical services for millions of people. When Medicare-eligible people suffer injuries at work, CMS can only provide healthcare funding when [...]
It's mid-summer, and many of our readers are off on well-deserved vacations. For those who are still in the office (and are as fascinated as we are by all things ‘workers’ comp'), we are taking this opportunity to offer some updates to one of the major subjects we've been following and to provide a heads [...]
The Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) law requires that "Responsible Reporting Entities" (RREs) notify the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) when a Medicare beneficiary (or soon-to-be beneficiary) is injured. Failure by an RRE to notify CMS of such an injured person may result in significant “civil monetary penalties” (CMPs), according to federal law. CMS [...]
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 [...]
