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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
WASHINGTON—A U.S. governmental agency said Wednesday that it will delay implementation of Medicare Secondary Payer mandatory reporting, which was to begin April 1, to Jan. 1, 2011.
Medicare Secondary Payer reporting requirements are intended to ensure that Medicare remains the secondary payer when a Medicare beneficiary has medical expenses that should be paid primarily by a liability, no-fault or workers compensation plan.
The American Insurance Assn. praised the move by the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“Pushing back the deadline is the right move, and I commend CMS for making this decision,” Peter Foley, AIA's vp for claims and chair of the Washington-based group's Medicare Secondary Payer Task Force, said in a statement.
“The insurance industry has every intention to comply with the requirements, but we want the industry's data to be put forward in the best way possible to CMS,” Mr. Foley said.
The reporting requirement originated in the Medicare, Medicaid, and the SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 and insurers and self-insured employers sought a delay in the reporting deadline, citing a lack of guidance on reporting requirements among other issues.
Sources say the delay applies only to nongroup health plan reporting. It does not apply to group health plan reporting.