Medicare Advocacy and Recovery Coalition

Wednesday April 11, 2012. The Medicare Advocacy Recovery Coalition (MARC) applauds the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) for their recently released report titled “Medicare Secondary Payer – Additional Steps Are Needed to Improve Program Effectiveness for Non-Group Health Plans.” This GAO report was requested by Representative Stark (D-CA-9) in August of 2010 and reflects […]

By MATT DOBIAS It’s not easy to get lawmakers interested in an obscure and complex part of the Medicare law, especially when their minds are clearly on other topics, like the upcoming election. But a loose coalition of K Street types that includes trial lawyers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and advocates for seniors wants […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are leading a bipartisan effort that includes U.S. Senators Ben Nelson (D- Neb.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) to make the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Program more efficient and cost effective to taxpayers. The Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers (SMART) Act will speed up […]

An imposing new obstacle is getting in the way of the nation’s personal-injury lawsuits. It has nothing to do with the merits of the cases, or how the courts are operating. The obstacle is Medicare, the federal health insurer for the elderly. Lawyers say the program is disrupting a countless number of their settlements. Court […]

With Medicare facing an uncertain financial future and seniors clamoring for steps to be taken to bolster the program’s economic stability, Congress has held hearings to review how components of the program meet their statutory requirements and to hear suggestions on how the programs could be more effective. On Wednesday morning the House Energy and […]

Politics were at work as Deborah Taylor, the chief financial officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, faced tough questioning during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee On Oversight and Investigations hearing regarding the financial controls applied to this aspect of Medicare – a generally complex and obscure part of the program. CQ […]

For years, the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) process has frustrated the ability of Medicare beneficiaries and companies to resolve disputed claims. Whether the disputes have involved workers compensation claims, general tort claims, or no-fault claims (such as auto insurance), settlements have been delayed, if not prevented, due to the uncertainties of how much was owed […]

WASHINGTON (March 22, 2011) Congress can help consumers and Medicare beneficiaries by passing legislation reforming the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) system, according to the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). Introduced by Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Penn., and sponsored by Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., H.R. 1063, the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act (“SMART Act”), […]