by Thomas D. Begley, Jr., CELA<\/p>\n
For many years a debate has raged as to whether Medicare\u2019s interests must be considered with respect to future medical payments in the context of a third party liability settlement (\u201cTPLS\u201d). The issue is simple. If a plaintiff in a TPLS receives money to pay for future medical care, is he free to pocket that money and send the bill for the future medical care to Medicare? Under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (\u201cMSPA\u201d), Medicare is prohibited from making a payment for future medicals to the extent that such payment has been made under liability insurance. Therefore, if a liability insurance company or self-insured defendant pays money to a plaintiff for future medical care, the argument goes that Medicare cannot pay for that care.<\/p>\n
In 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (\u201cCMS\u201d) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (\u201cNPRM\u201d), but then voluntarily withdrew it in (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Thomas D. Begley, Jr., CELA For many years a debate has raged as to whether Medicare\u2019s interests must be considered with respect to future medical payments in the context of a third party liability settlement (\u201cTPLS\u201d). The issue is…<\/span><\/p>\n