Haro v. Sebelius Fallout: Good and Bad
Last week, I wrote a largely upbeat post about a U.S. District Court in Arizona opinion in Haro v. Sebelius as hopefully a harbinger for a less draconian system governing the logistics of dealing with Medicare/Medicaid liens in personal injury cases.
But the rain is getting a little heavier before the rainbow. Medicare/Medicaid has stopped sending Rights and Responsibility (RAR) and demand letters while trying to figure out just how to deal with Haro v. Sebelius. So trying to get Medicare on the phone for information is a challenge squared. My office spent two hours - literally on hold - last week. "On hold" is the operative phase - lien resolutions are at a standstill which is tough medicine for everyone.
Medicare posted on their website that it intends to resume sending RAR letters on June 10th. An RAR letter lays out for plaintiffs and their attorneys an overview of the Medicare lien process. (Here is a sample Medicare Rights and Responsibilities letter.) Theoretically, you get a Conditional Payment Letter, which tells you what Medicare paid, 65 days after you get an RAR. One interesting tea leaf will be to see if any of the language of the RAR letter changes.
- My original Haro v. Seblius post (which has a link to the case)
- Court rules on motion to enforce settlement when insurance company balks over lien issues
- Lien Resolution Services blog post
- ERISA liens and the "made whole" doctrine
- Five things you don't know about personal injury liens
Comments
Thank you for your continued coverage of this Meidicare issue and for sharing this important information.
Posted by: Mike Rothrock | June 1, 2011 4:39 PM