3.
What is the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) and how is in involved in MSAs?
The Centers for Medicare
and Medicare Services (CMS) (Formerly known as the Health Care Financing
Administration (HCFA)), is the federal agency responsible for administering the
Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance), HIPAA (Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), CLIA (Clinical Laboratory
Improvement Amendments), and several other health-related programs. Its
official website is
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ .
Because it administers
Medicare, it is also responsible for the enforcing the
Medicare Secondary Payer Act. Therefore, it is the agency that is
responsible for both Medicare Set-Asides (MSAs) and conditional
payments. The employees of CMS can only do so much, however, so it has retained
third-party contractors to assist it.
CMS has contracted with
the
Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Contractor (MSPRC) to handle all requests
for conditional payment information and another entity, the WCRC, is responsible
for reviewing all Medicare Set-Aside proposals.
BACK
All of the content was
prepared by Michael R. Merlino II, an attorney in Georgia who focuses on his
practice primarily on MSAs. He prepares MSAs for many large self-insureds and
insurance companies. If you have questions, he can be contacted at 770-374-3697
or
mmerlino@gmail.com. He also has a website devoted to MSAs, which is updated
frequently: www.wcmsainfo.com
©
2007 Wisconsin Association of Worker’s Compensation Attorneys, Inc, and Michael
R. Merlino II. All rights reserved.
