Trying HARD to comply with Medicare Secondary Payer rules

By Jim Bleeke

I recently attended the Defense Research Institute Medical Liability and Health Care Law Seminar in Phoenix (where snow in the rest of the country was a distant rumor).

One of the topics that generated much discussion was the presentation on the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act that is causing major concerns for defense and plaintiffs lawyers about how to settle cases while still complying with the law. While no definitive answers are readily available, a United States District Attorney emphasized that this is all just intended to recover for taxpayers money paid to individuals for injuries caused by entities other than the government. The speaker emphasized that the earlier in the case that efforts are made to secure that objective, the greater the likelihood that the United States Government will consider the good faith efforts made to comply with the law.

As experience with these new rules develops, it will be helpful to approach all of the more rigorous requirements with an understanding that the goal is to make the taxpayers as whole as possible for outlays that legally should be borne by the responsible tortfeasor.