Yet again, Medicare pushed back the unveiling of a notice of proposed rulemaking on regulations governing post-settlement medical care of Medicare beneficiaries. Last year, ECS briefed this issue in both July and December and at that time Medicare planned to release the proposed regulation in March 2021. March came and went without fanfare, and now Medicare and the Office of Management and Budget plan to introduce the notice in October 2021.

As mentioned before, this proposed rule would clarify existing MSP obligations associated with future medical items services on any bodily injury settlement. The notice indicates that “this rule would clarify that an individual or Medicare beneficiary must satisfy Medicare’s interest with respect to future medical items and services related to such settlements, judgments, awards, or other payments.” The regulatory notice has consistently indicated that Medicare’s interest in post-settlement payments must be “satisfied,” which is a concept that has not been previously articulated.  This continues to bear watching and ECS will provide further updates on any developments.

ExamWorks Compliance Solutions continuously monitors regulatory and legislative developments in the Medicare Secondary Payer space.  For further information or if you have any questions, contact Senior MSP Compliance Counsel and Policy Strategist Annie M. Davidson at 651-262-9618 or annie.davidson@examworkscompliance.com.