New law requires Medicare to provide beneficiary status

President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law H.R. 8900, an appropriations bill that included the provisions now requiring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide applicable insurance plans, including that of workers compensation, access to Medicare beneficiary enrollment status in Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription Drug plans, according to an analysis released Wednesday by Tower MSA Partners LLC.

 

According to the company that assists insurers with Medicare compliance, prior to the law “this information can only be obtained from claimants which impedes the applicable plans’ efforts at mitigating their exposure to reimbursement claims” from the federal health care programs.

“Plans are forced to rely on claimants to voluntarily share their Medicare Advantage plan or Part D plan enrollment, an inconsistent and unreliable method,” the analysis says.

 

Towers MSA Partners says the change will provide better information for settlements.

 

The law “will make it easier for payers to proactively identify and then investigate and resolve… reimbursement claims,” the analysis states. “As a result, claims can be settled with confidence that a reimbursement claim or lien will not pop up weeks, months or years later.”