By Robert G. Rassp, Esq. The following chart lists the brand or common and chemical names of drugs we regularly see in our cases embedded in medical-legal reports, treating physician reports and subpoenaed medical records. Some physicians randomly use... Read More
Sign up here for our free workers' compensation enewsletters (National or California Edition) to receive weekly news items. Be sure to select the enewsletter of your choice. NATIONAL: NCCI: Claim Frequency Declined One Percent in 2011 . Forbes... Read More
NCCI has recently examined the demographics related to MSAs (distributions of amounts of MSAs and total settlements that include MSAs; distributions of ages of claimants) and the aspects of the CMS review process (length of time from submission to CMS... Read More
Sign up here for our free workers' compensation enewsletters (National or California Edition) to receive weekly news items. Be sure to select the enewsletter of your choice. NATIONAL NEWS: CMS Announces Coverage Change Re TENS Units Included... Read More
NCOIL Conference to Address Physician Repackaging, Volunteer Firefighters, Migrant Workers . PCI Announces 2012 State Advocacy Priorities, Need to Combat Rising WC Costs . National Drug Abuse Summit to Be Held April 10-12, Orlando, FL . ... Read More
Last November I had the pleasure of participating in a panel with two more eminently qualified folks—Jennifer C. Jordan of MEDVAL, LLC and Tim Nay at Nay & Friedenberg —about Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) compliance at the 23rd Annual... Read More
By Jennifer C. Jordan, Esq. Since the very beginning of its MSP enforcement efforts around the turn of the century, CMS has avoided the regulatory process and developed MSP related policies and practices informally. By doing this, CMS has been able... Read More
It is important to be familiar with the criteria for reporting to avoid being late in adhering to the MMSEA Section 111 requirements. The determination of whether to submit a claim is dictated by two criteria, both of which must be met to require reporting... Read More
By Jennifer C. Jordan, Esq. In California, there is a unique trend compared to the rest of the nation in that the Medicare Set-Aside process is primarily defense driven with less than full disclosure to the Applicants. While not applicable to all employers... Read More
By Jennifer C. Jordan, Esq. Progress is the theme of this year’s update to The Complete Guide to Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance , 2012 Edition (available in October; see special offer below). Nothing has improved so much that people don’t... Read More
Today's post is a pretty dry discussion by Sassy Cassy standards. I stumbled across a recent Motion Day ruling that presents a potentially novel issue and has a little something to offer on the topic of enforceability of settlements. That and the... Read More
By Jennifer C. Jordan, Esq., General Counsel, MEDVAL, LLC Medicare set-asides have become an albatross for all insurers. And despite all their efforts to do exactly what CMS wants in the interest of protecting the Medicare Trust funds, CMS is constantly... Read More
There is a garden industry that has emerged since 1997 in California of companies who have become “WCMSA specialists”, promoting themselves as experts in developing WCMSA proposals that will pass muster with CMS. Most workers’ compensation... Read More
By Mark Popolizio, Esquire Section 111 Senior Legal Counsel Crowe Paradis Services Corporation The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will implement a new Self-Calculated Final Conditional Payment Amount option beginning in February 2012... Read More
By Robert G. Rassp, Esq. Appellate review of California Labor Code Sections 4663 and 4664 on apportionment has mandated that physicians provide in their conclusions with reasonable medical probability approximately what percentage of permanent disability... Read More