Events Archives

WorkCompCentral, Tower MSA Partners & Ametros Invite You to a Webinar on Optimizing MSAs: Before & After Settlement

September 4, 2018

Webinar announcment for Optimizing MSAs Before & After Settlement

The trusted source for the latest news in workers’ compensation, WorkCompCentral.com, hosts the leading innovators in Medicare Set-Aside development and administration, Tower MSA Partners and Ametros, in an upcoming webinar on the topic of Optimizing MSAs: Before & After Settlement. This free one-hour webinar will be presented by Tower Chief Compliance Officer Dan Anders, Ametros CEO Marques Tolbert, and will be held on Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 2 PM EDT.

Overview:

Settling work comp claims calls for a tricky balance. Payers want to limit the amount of money that is allocated to a Medicare Set-Aside and injured workers worry about running out of money for their work-injury related medical bills. How do you balance these competing interests? This webinar shows how pairing an intervention-driven MSA partner with a supportive professional administrator can produce a fair and reasonable MSA allocation and still protect and extend those allocation dollars over an injured worker’s life expectancy.

Attendees Will Learn How:

To balance the interests of payers and injured workers when settling claims.
An accurate drafting of the MSA provides its own cost savings.
To identify MSA cost drivers and how to apply clinical interventions to reduce them.
The right professional administrator can reduce the costs of medical and pharmacy care for the injured worker after settlement.
Professional administration can support an injured worker after settlement and protect and extend the life of the settlement

These lessons will help you drive claims to settlement and reduce those settlement costs while ensuring the injured worker has sufficient funds for future medical care. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from these MSA experts!

Registration can be completed by following this link to the WorkCompCentral website or calling (866) 975-2667.

Thank you!

CMS to Host Webinar on Benefits of Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Portal (MSPRP)

August 2, 2018

CMS recently announced it is hosting a webinar on Thursday, August 16, 2018, at 1:00 PM ET to “present the benefits of using the MSPRP.” The webinar will also include an update on the new MSPRP features which Tower MSA highlighted in a recent article, Enhancements to MSPRP Improve Conditional Payment Processes.

A link to the webinar registration information can be found here.

Note, we attempted to register using the registration information provided but received an error message. We are unclear whether this is a technical error on the past of CMS or registration is not allowed until shortly before the webinar is to begin. We have requested clarification from CMS, but we suggest assuming that logging in is not allowed until shortly before the webinar is set to begin.

We encourage anyone who regularly uses the MSPRP or is considering using the MSPRP to attend the webinar.

CMS Webinar to Introduce New MSA Review Contractor

March 1, 2018

Effective March 19, 2018, Capitol Bridge, LLC will be taking over responsibilities from Provider Resources as CMS’s Workers Compensation Review Contractor (WCRC). CMS has now announced a webinar set for Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 1:00 PM ET to introduce the new MSA review contractor. See CMS Notice which includes a link to register for the webinar.

Capitol Bridge becomes the third company since 2003 to be awarded the WCRC contract. The contractor is charged with evaluating Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA) proposals submitted to CMS for review and approval. Using criteria set by CMS, it makes recommendations to the designated CMS Regional Office (RO) as to whether the proposed MSA amount adequately protects Medicare’s interests. If the WCRC disagrees with the proposal it will provide an alternate recommendation, either higher or lower, than the proposed amount. The CMS RO usually accepts the recommendation from the WCRC and issues the approval letter to the submitter of the MSA.

Besides the transition to the new contractor, what is unique about Capitol Bridge’s contract with CMS is the inclusion of a provision providing for the optional expansion of its MSA review responsibilities to liability and no-fault cases as early as July 1, 2018. We caution though that CMS has not announced that such an expansion will occur on July 1, 2018.

Tower MSA applauds CMS for inviting those impacted by the contractor change to this introductory webinar. On the heels of the January webinar introducing the new CRC contractor, we are pleased with more transparency by CMS in its process and policy changes. If you are unable to attend CMS’s webinar, Tower MSA will provide a summary of relevant information on our MSP Compliance Blog following the presentation.

CMS to Host Webinar on Transition to New CRC Contractor

January 9, 2018

On Thursday, January 18, 2018, at 1:00 PM ET, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a webinar for the purpose of introducing the new Commercial Repayment Center (CRC) contractor to Non-Group Health Plans.

The CRC is responsible for recovery of Medicare conditional payments from liability insurers (including self-insured entities), no-fault insurers and workers compensation entities where such entities are the identified debtor by Medicare. It was announced last October that the new CRC contract had been awarded to Performant Financial Corporation (See Tower MSA article: New Commercial Repayment Center Contractor on the Horizon). The transition to the new contractor is to occur on February 8, 2018.

According to the January 5, 2018 CMS Notice, the webinar will consist of opening remarks and a presentation by CMS followed by a Q & A session. We encourage anyone who has regular contact with the CRC to register and attend the presentation (A link to register is located in the CMS Notice). If you are unable to attend, Tower MSA will provide a summary of relevant information on our MSP Compliance Blog following the presentation.

As CMS contractor changes are often fraught with a subsequent period of longer turnaround times and inconsistent communication with contractor representatives, we hope this transition proves an exception to past experiences. This introductory webinar appears to be a useful first step.

If you have any questions regarding the CRC contractor transition, please contact Dan Anders at daniel.anders@towermsa.com or (888) 331-4941.

Tower MSA to Host Free Webinar on Medicare Advantage, Part D Plan Recovery Recovery Rights

September 14, 2017

Tower MSA Partners will host a free webinar on Medicare Advantage and Part D Plan Recovery Rights on October 4 at 12:00 PM EDT. Tower MSA Partners is pleased to have Brian Bargender, of Humana, as the guest presenter for the Webinar. Humana is the second largest Medicare Advantage Plan and Part D plan in the country and has been the leading advocate for seeking reimbursement under the MSP Act from primary payers and Medicare beneficiaries for payments made through these plans.

Areas covered in the presentation are:

Intro to Medicare Advantage and Part D Plans
MSP guidance provided by CMS to MA and Part D Plans
MA and Part D MSP enforcement rights
Obstacles to enforcing MSP
Tips for addressing MSP with MA and Part D plans

To register for the Tower MSA Premier Webinar, click here.

To read more about the Webinar, click here to read article posted on WorkersCompCentral about the Webinar.