Slade Neighbors has successfully defended and reduced Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) amounts for our clients. For more than 25 years, Medicare has maintained the legal right to compel reimbursement for medical treatment paid that arguably should have been paid by liability, no-fault or workers’ compensation insurance carriers. Until recently, that right was not universally enforced and often overlooked. Over the past several years, the federal government has enforced this statutory right. Frequently, this results in a substantial delay in resolving claims while awaiting a conditional payment lien letter. A detailed understanding of these requirements, and various entities involved, is necessary to swiftly and effectively resolve claims. We recognize the need to protect our clients by making reasonable efforts to ensure Medicare’s interests are addressed as required by the Medicare Secondary Payer Act. From the onset of every case, we analyze and confirm whether Medicare’s interests are implicated. We actively mitigate our clients’ exposure by working with treating physicians and doctors to minimize future medical treatment and costs. We monitor each case to determine whether threshold submission levels are being reached, and advise our clients appropriately. We educate our clients on MSA issues and requirements. We provide guidance and recommendations on submissions of MSAs, verification of conditional payments, and requests for reconsideration of Medicare Set- Aside plans. We often see cases where failure to actively mitigate medical treatment and expenses through the case results in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recommending a substantial MSA amount. The CMS-recommended MSA may be so large, that our clients find it impossible to move forward with the settlement process. In those circumstances, through a variety of legal tactics and negotiation strategies, we have successfully reduced the MSA amount significantly, allowing our clients to secure final resolution of cases and reduce their ongoing risk. Our attorneys are dedicated to representing our clients’ interests in the Medicare Set-Aside process from the onset of every case. |