How to Handle Medicare Set-Asides

The Medicare Secondary Payer act (MSP) was enacted on December 5, 1980. Despite being federal law for over thirty-five years, many attorneys still struggle with ensuring their settlements fully comply with the statute's three basic requirements: ensure Medicare remains secondary to settlement proceeds, reimbursement of Medicare’s conditional payment amount, and the defendant's requirement to report the settlement via the Section 111 reporting requirement.

Since 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has methodically stepped up its enforcement of the MSP statute in all liability settlements. The most recent changes to CMS enforcement came in Fall 2017 when CMS took steps to ensure Medicare does not make any accident-related medical payments post-settlement. Additional CMS enforcement of the MSP statute is expected in 2020.