Synergy’s blog brings you the industry’s foremost thought leadership InSights on matters of healthcare lien resolution and Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance. Visit often to discover helpful InSights on important lien resolution compliance issues.
In this two-part article, we are discussing the most common types of mass tort cases. By design, mass tort cases help trial attorneys consolidate the best interest of several people (claimants) who suffered damages into a civil action against the entity that caused this occurrence (the defendant). Because this is an extremely tedious and time-consuming […]
The Special Needs Trust (SNT) is designed to protect individuals with disabilities who are receiving money through a trust. The SNT is an effective tool because it places funds and other relevant assets in the control of a trustee to make it easier for an individual with special needs to save money while avoiding any […]
It is a very common practice for insurance carriers to negotiate catastrophic workers’ compensation claims using offers in the form of both upfront cash to the claimant and a structured settlement. At a minimum, any case involving a Medicare set aside will typically be funded with a structured settlement annuity. AIG, Berkshire Hathaway, and USAA […]
B. Josh Pettingill Problem 1) There is still an incredible amount of misinformation in the marketplace about Liability MSAs. Despite efforts to raise awareness and educate stakeholders about LMSAs, many of the largest liability insurance carriers are still convinced that failure to address Medicare’s future interests on liability case creates exposure for them. There is […]
On June 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced a recently concluded settlement with a plaintiff firm involving the repayment of Medicare Conditional Payments. The government’s investigation arose under the Medicare Secondary Payer provisions of the Social Security Act, which authorizes Medicare, as a secondary payer, […]
Investing your fees in a pre-tax and tax-deferred attorney fee deferral program is a very smart way to plan for the future. Attorney fee deferral programs are created for a variety of reasons. Based upon your specific planning needs and objectives, you can defer your contingent legal fees to accomplish any of the following: Cover […]
Introduction The receipt of personal injury proceeds by someone who is disabled can cause ineligibility for means based tested government benefit programs. Medicaid[1] and SSI[2] are two such programs. However, there are planning devices that can be utilized to preserve eligibility for those who have become disabled due to injury. A special needs trust can […]
Increasingly trial attorneys are discovering that settlement of a personal injury or wrongful death claim with the tortfeasor can be the beginning not the end of negotiations or even litigation. Once settlement funds are received, the often-protracted lien resolution process begins, especially hospital liens. Hospitals typically demand reimbursement of their full, undiscounted list prices for […]
Synergy’s lien resolution group has seen many cases like this one, where attorneys settle a case based on the assumption that they know the final Medicare lien amount.