House Bill Set to Resolve Medicare Workers Compensation Issues

Employers  have a vested interest in assisting workers injured at work to promote their healing and return to work.  One of these ways is by making sure they receive the workers' compensation due them in a timely manner, with a minimum of hassle.  HR 2641 addresses this in terms of workers' compensation Medicare set asides and payments. A coalition of attorneys  representing injured workers, employers, insurance carriers, defense attorneys, and other interested parties are applauding the introduction by House Representative John Tanner (D-TN) of HR 2641.  HR 2641 is designed to resolve the serious delays and confusion in the review of workers' compensation Medicare set aside by the federal agency responsible for administration of Medicare, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). "The Medicare Secondary  Payer and Workers' Compensation Settlement Act of 2009  will provide clear and consistent standards for CMS' administrative process," according to Douglas Holmes, president of Strategic Services on Unemployment and Workers' Compensation (UWC) and coordinator of the Coalition for Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Reform. According to Holmes,  "CMS takes too long to review proposed set-asides, fails to provide consistent standards for determining amounts to be set aside, and provides no avenue for appeal of their determinations. The process results in injured workers not receiving funds, additional costs for states and workers' compensation payers, and additional liability for employers, insurance carriers, (italics added) and attorneys in contravention of the state workers' compensation exclusive remedy principle. A legislative solution to this problem is needed." Ed Romano,  president of the Workers' Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG), the national association of attorneys representing injured workers in workers' compensation cases, noted that too often, injured workers bear the brunt of the delays caused by the current system and reforms are needed now. "This bill is about  process improvement and fair treatment of all parties," Romano remarked. "We applaud Representative Tanner for taking on this issue. "In case after case  we hear of delays in approval, uncertainty of the amount to be reimbursed by injured workers, and changes in amounts to be set-aside after settlements have been approved." Holmes believes the current MSP procedure does not allow for any recourse, noting, "There is no avenue to compel a timely decision or appeal a bad one.  The legislation introduced by (workersxzcompxzkit) Representative Tanner corrects this situation and many other costly problems and delays, for the benefit of all parties involved – most importantly the injured workers." To view the entire bill, visit: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-2641. Click on these links to try it for yourself. WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs. ©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact I[email protected]