Some employers, carriers and other payers think Medicare Set-Asides (MSAs) are all pretty much the same, a commodity.  A company calculates future medical expenses and sends a report with an allocation to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS),…

In an October 10, 2019 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) was found not to be a primary plan under the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Act.  The result of…

On October 7, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an updated Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Portal (WCMSAP) User Guide (Version 5.9) which adds the capability for both MSA self and professional administrators to electronically submit annual…

In light of the positive response to our July webinar, “Everything you wanted to know about MSAs, but were afraid to ask,” Tower will tackle Medicare conditional payments and related topics in our next webinar, October 23 at 2 p.m….

The famed University of Alabama head coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant said, “when you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.”  These wise words are…

On July 19, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved multiple applications for the first generics of Lyrica (pregabalin). This follows the expiration of Pfizer’s patent on Lyrica at the end of June. The generic is expected to be…

Through our quarterly webinars and in-person trainings, Tower offers our partners recent and relevant information combined with best practices in Medicare Secondary Payer compliance. However, once a year, a unique opportunity is presented by the National Alliance of Medicare Set-Aside…

Why does CMS do what they do when it comes to MSAs? Many a claims professional and injured worker have probably pondered this question. Well, the wait for answers is over. On July 24, 2019 at 2 pm ET, Tower…

Two years ago, CMS rolled out a policy that enabled submission of a new MSA even if an MSA had previously been approved for the same date of injury. The purpose of this “Amended Review” is to provide parties who…

WCI comes a little earlier this year (August 11-14), so make plans to attend now. Tower will present in two back-to-back sessions on August 14. Starting at 9 a.m., “Optimizing Settlement Outcomes by Measuring and Managing MSA Costs” stresses the…