The Medicare Advocacy Recovery Coalition (MARC) is working with legislators in Washington to improve the existing Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) law. They are working with Representatives Tim Murphy and Patrick Murphy (both from Pennsylvania) on H.R. 4796, the Medicare Secondary Payer Enhancement Act of 2010 (MSPEA). The MSPEA would make the following changes which will create a more sensible and efficient MSP system:
- Revise the flow of information so parties know how much is owed to Medicare before settling;
- Creates a right of appeal for conditional payments for any party who disagrees with the MSP calculation;
- Establishes a clear statute of limitations for Medicare to pursue its recovery claims (three years);
- Adopts a sensible MSP recovery threshold (so that Medicare does not spend excessive taxpayer money pursuing a claim);
- Removes the requirement that Medicare beneficiaries disclose sensitive personal ID numbers (social security and Medicare numbers).
MARC is hoping to receive 15,000 letters of support for this legislation. Below are links to a sample letter, the text of the bill, and a listing of identified Medicare compliance issues and problems. Please prepare a letter based on the sample below and email it to: mspea@marccoalition.com. They will print and hand deliver the letters to your congressional representative. You need to address your letter to your representative. You can identify your representative at: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml.
