Tag: MSAs

Tower’s Physician Follow-Up Service Kicks Costly SCS Out of MSA

June 20, 2024

Tower’s Physician Follow-Up Service Kicks Costly SCS Out of MSA

Nothing can stall settlement faster than a Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) that includes an unnecessary or unwanted medical procedure. Procedures like surgeries, spinal cord stimulators (SCSs), and intrathecal pain pumps significantly raise the costs of MSA allocations. Fortunately, Tower’s client partners have access to our complimentary Physician Follow-up service that Save on MSAs.

In a recent case, this service successfully removed a costly SCS from the MSA, resulting in a savings of $132,232.

Challenges with SCS Trial Inclusion in MSAs: Addressing Worker Reluctance and CMS Requirements

A worker who had suffered a low back injury was advised by his neurosurgeon and pain management physician to consider an SCS trial. A review of treatment records showed that the injured worker was very anxious about the procedure, and a psychological evaluation revealed a diagnosis of major depressive disorder.

Despite the worker’s reluctance to undergo the procedure, CMS will include it in the MSA, assuming that the worker may change their mind. Tower drafted an initial MSA to include the SCS for a total allocation of $157,500.

Successfully Removing SCS from MSA with Physician Statements: Tower’s Approach

The injured worker’s resistance to the procedure and results of the psych evaluation indicated he would not be a suitable candidate for an SCS. Therefore, we recommended that our Physician Follow-up service obtain statements from both physicians that confirmed the SCS is no longer part of the treatment plan. (If only one physician had provided a statement, CMS would likely keep the SCS in the MSA).

After client approval, in compliance with this jurisdiction’s regulations, Tower notified the plaintiff’s attorney of our intention to communicate with the injured worker’s providers. We then contacted the neurosurgeon and pain management specialist and provided them drafts of physician statements that confirmed the SCS is no longer a treatment option.

While it took several weeks of persistent follow-up with the physicians’ offices, Tower successfully obtained both signed statements.

Efficient MSA Revision: Tower Achieves Significant Cost Reduction and Quick CMS Approval

Tower revised the MSA down from $157,500 to $25,268 and submitted it to CMS. CMS approved the MSA within two weeks for the proposed amount.

In response, Tower’s client said, “Great job, Tower! I am so thankful for our partnership and truly appreciate your hard work and persistence. $132k in savings!!! Woohoo!”

The defense attorney said, “you guys work some real magic here, bravo!”

It’s more methodology than magic, but we often find opportunities to reduce the allocation or mitigate potential increases from CMS review when we draft an MSA. Vague references to potential future procedures mean these costs will be included in the MSA. CMS’s exacting review process requires explicit confirmation of the last dates of service and ongoing treatment and medications.

At no extra charge, Tower contacts physicians, clarifies treatment, drafts physician statements, and obtains medical providers’ signatures to document dates of treatment and ongoing and future medical care. This service paves the way to quick CMS MSA approval and mitigates the potential for unexpected increases.

To learn more about our Physician Follow-up service, please get in touch with Hany Abdelsayed at 888.331.4941 or hany.abdelsayed@towermsa.com.

How to Manage Medicare Set-Asides: Tips from Dan Anders

May 29, 2024

Tower MSA Partners Expert Tips on How to Manage Medicare Set Asides

Our Chief Compliance Officer Dan Anders learned how to write Medicare Set-Asides (MSA) the hard way through trial and error in the days before the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid published complete guidelines.  Even now, the manuals and regulations don’t cover every detail.

And with MSAs details matter.  Proper documentation, down to the way the claimant signs and initials their consent form, is essential.  Dan compiled some tips for managing MSAs with CMS in his May 21 Leaders Speak article for WorkCompWire. These are among the topics covered:

Rated ages

The article highlights the use of rated ages as a way to calculate a fair allocation for the MSA.  Briefly, if an injured worker has comorbidities that will likely reduce their longevity, a rated age can reduce the allocation of the MSA.

How to respond to a dreaded Development Letter from CMS

Dan tells readers how to respond to a CMS Development Letter, which CMS sends when it needs additional information to review submitted MSA. These letters usually request updated treatment records, complete claim payment history of medical, indemnity and expenses, or a document that clearly outlines all the dates of injuries, all carriers, and all accepted and denied body parts.

Development letters can be avoided with the submission of all the correct documents with the MSA.  Some submissions provide an Independent Medical Evaluation or Qualified Medical Evaluator report in lieu of medical records. IMEs, QMEs and similar evaluations may influence a decision, but they cannot replace treatment records. And CMS wants ALL the injury-related records even if workers’ compensation did not pay for the treatment.

When to request a Re-Review

Dan also explains how to handle the Re-Review Appeal process. CMS can make mistakes when issuing counter-highers. He cites several common mistakes, including incorrect prescription drug pricing, misinterpretation of medical records, and using the wrong fee schedule. Always analyze counter-highers for potential errors and consider taking advantage of this appeal.

Tower is here to help manage Medicare Set-Asides

Read the article here and remember that Tower consults with its clients on every aspect of MSA submission and other Medicare Secondary Payer issues. Whether you’re a client yet or not, Dan is available to discuss issues you encounter with your MSAs.  Contact him at daniel.anders@towermsa.com.

In a Volatile Political Climate MSAs & Professional Administration Provide Much Needed Assurances

March 17, 2017

Learn why MSAs and professional administration offers stability in an otherwise volatile and partisan political environment in this joint article between Ametros Financial and Tower MSA Partners

These first few of months of 2017 have been, to put it mildly, volatile in national politics. The incoming Trump Administration and a Republican Congress are poised to tackle the federal budget, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) among many other federal programs. All of these issues have sharp partisan divides, however no matter where your views lay on the political spectrum, if you are a professional involved in the workers compensation industry, these issues may have a big impact on how you can be successful at your job.

This article looks at what impact the Trump administration and a Republican-controlled Congress may have on Medicare Set-Asides (MSAs) in the context of the legislative and regulatory history of the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Act and how the uncertainty resulting from potential changes to federal healthcare programs results in MSAs and professional administration being even more relevant in the settlement of workers’ compensation cases.

The MSP Act Has Been and Remains Bipartisan

A review of the history of the MSP Act demonstrates a noticeably bipartisan effort to improve and expand its applicability and enforcement mechanisms. The MSP Act was enacted in 1980 during President Carter’s administration. Subsequent to its passage, provisions were added over the Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations, all emphasizing Medicare being secondary to group and non-group health plans. The most notable legislative expansion occurred in 2007 when a Democratic-controlled Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed into law, the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act which included Section 111 Mandatory Insurer Reporting provisions for group and non-group health plans. There also continues to be a decade long effort to pass bipartisan legislation which would implement certain reforms to the Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA) review process. While the most recent WCMSA reform bill died in the last Congress it is expected a new bill will be reintroduced in 2017.

Besides legislative expansion of the MSP Act, during President George W. Bush’s administration there occurred the release of the July 23, 2001 CMS memo, commonly called the “Patel Memo.” The Patel memo and subsequent CMS memos effectively formalized a process for CMS to review and approve WCMSAs.

MSA reviews continued, Medicare conditional recovery processes expanded and Section 111 was implemented all during the course of President Obama’s administration. The only legislative change to the MSP Act occurring during the Obama years was the passage of the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act of 2012 (SMART Act) which was a successful bipartisan effort to address deficiencies identified in the MSP Act, particularly Section 111 reporting and Medicare conditional payment recovery.

Since the enactment then of the MSP Act in 1980 it has continued to be expanded and enforced consistently across both Republican and Democratic Presidents and Congresses.

Why has there not been a partisan divide? The simple reason is that the MSP Act forces entities other than the federal government to pay which has benefits for both political parties. For Democrats it demonstrates their protecting the viability of a federal government entitlement program while for Republicans it demonstrates their protecting taxpayers by shifting costs away from the government. While the Trump administration has to our knowledge never issued any MSP policy statements, based upon the past bipartisanship on this issue, our expectation is the administration will continue and possibly expand the MSP compliance programs at CMS.

Uncertainty Over Federal Healthcare Programs to Drive Assurance with MSAs

President Trump has indicated repeatedly that he will not reduce benefits to Medicare beneficiaries. Nonetheless, Medicare beneficiaries are facing premium increases. Notably, a Kaiser Family Foundation report indicated Part D premiums are rising by an average of 9% in 2017. As for Medicaid, the Trump administration is supporting a block grant program which would give more discretion to the states in formulating and implementing their own Medicaid programs compared to the present process which includes significant federal oversight. Finally, and most significant, is the Republican-led initiative to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare. These potential changes to statutory programs create uncertainty for injured workers contemplating settlement of medical in their workers’ compensation cases.

Uncertainty for injured workers exists with programmatic changes to Medicare and private group health plans which are increasingly driven by a more value-based approach to healthcare delivery. A value-based approach provides incentives to medical providers to be more cautious with prescribing treatments and medications which may have limited value to the patient. This is also usually tied in part to a utilization review process which places limits on care through the use of evidence-based medicine. While in the past some injured workers have settled medical stemming from their work related injury confident that they could shift their ongoing work-related care, if any, to their group health plan, such coverage may now be limited. And when it comes to shifting costs to Medicare, CMS’s long-standing policy is such costs must be accounted for in an MSA.

MSAs and professional administration A Flight to Certainty

Accordingly, injured workers and their attorneys when settling their workers’ compensation cases will look for certainty where it can be obtained so that they have the assurance of access to medical care for their future injury-related care. For claimants who are Medicare beneficiaries or are close to becoming Medicare beneficiaries, such assurance can be obtained by a properly allocated MSA which is CMS-approved, when necessary, and professionally administered to maintain the MSA funds over life-expectancy in compliance with CMS rules.

Tower MSA Partners is committed to providing employers and claimants a reasonable MSA allocation which, along CMS guidelines, properly accounts for future injury-related and Medicare-covered medical care without unnecessary overfunding. This often includes Tower MSA reaching out to treating physicians to confirm current care regimens or clarity regarding ongoing medication and treatment prior to submission of the MSA to CMS.

While CMS approval of the MSA and subsequent funding provides assurance at the point of settlement that funds for injury-related medical have been provided, equally important is proper administration of those funds such that an injured worker can be assured the funds for his or her care will last over their life expectancy and that there will be a seamless transition to Medicare for payment if the funds every run out.

Ametros’ professional administration service, CareGuard, secures the injured party discounts on their medical treatment, and prescription costs. All the while they are free from utilization review allowing them to not have to worry about their treatment being rejected. Additionally, CareGuard will makes sure all MSA expenses are accounted for in the eyes of Medicare. Cost-effective programs like CareGuard are in place to protect the injured worker post-settlement and ensure compliance with CMS requirements for MSA administration.

In this current era of high uncertainty, all parties can rest easy by focusing on known methods to protect themselves and the injured party throughout the claim handling and settlement process. That’s why many believe it is more critical than ever to obtain an adequate MSA that will cover the ongoing medical care of the injured party and, upon settlement, to have a professional administrator help the injured party make the funds last as long as possible and do all the required Medicare reporting.

For further information or questions om MSAs and professional administration, please contact:

Tower MSA Partners
Dan Anders (847) 946-2880 or Daniel.anders@towermsa.com

Learn more at: www.towermsa.com

Ametros
Porter Leslie – (339) 223 9857 or pleslie@ametroscards.com
or
Jayson Gallant – (339-234-3420) or jgallant@ametroscards.com

Learn more at: www.ametroscards.com

Tower MSA Partnership with American Airlines and PRIUM Yields Legacy Claim Settlements

December 8, 2016

In a widely acclaimed presentation at the recent 2016 National Workers Compensation and Disability Conference, Jennifer Saddy, Workers’ Compensation Director for American Airlines and Mark Pew, Senior Vice President of PRIUM, detailed the successful cooperation among American, PRIUM and Tower MSA to reduce pharmacy costs, litigation referrals and Medicare Set Aside costs ultimately leading to significant claim settlements.  Tower MSA is grateful to Jennifer and Mark for highlighting how Tower MSA’s Identification, Intervention and Involvement services were a key contribution to the success of this legacy claim reduction program.
 
For more information on American’s program please read the Risk & Insurance article Make a Decision and Move the Needle: American Airlines needed to take aggressive action to resolve 6,000 lingering workers’ compensation claims.

For more information on Tower MSA’s legacy claim reduction services please contact us at 888.331.4941 or info@towermsa.com.