US Attorneys Prove Ignoring Medicare Is Expensive

Medicare compliance should be a part of every injury firm’s business plan. Need proof? Take a look at this press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Want more proof? Read the settlement agreement between the US Attorney and Philadelphia personal injury law firm Rosenbaum & Associates for nine unpaid Medicare liens.

The agreement covers payment for nine plaintiffs’ liens that Rosenbaum failed to pay. In it, the principal attorney agrees to pay $28,000 to settle the unpaid liens and to build a process to make certain he pays liens in the future. This is the highest profile case of a plaintiff attorney being penalized for unpaid Medicare liens since US v. Harris in 2009.

The US Attorney happens to lay ground work for how to create a simple, effective lien resolution protocol in your office. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Rosenbaum personally agreed to:

  1. Designate a person at the firm responsible for paying Medicare secondary payer debts;
  2. Train the designated employee to ensure that the firm pays these debts on a timely basis; and,
  3. Review any outstanding debts with the designated employee at least every six months to ensure compliance.

The above three-step plan is a simple one, yet, the US Attorney’s Office believes so strongly in it, it posted the plan in its press release of the settlement agreement. Finally, Rosenbaum acknowledged in the settlement agreement that failure to submit timely repayment of a Medicare lien may result in liability for the wrongful retention of a government overpayment under the False Claims Act. Penalties under the False Claims Act are triple damages.

All of this means that Rosenbaum is lucky he didn’t pay $84,000 to settle these Medicare lien debts.

We urge you to put a plan in place to resolve Medicare liens and any health insurance liens. A good plan requires workflows, standard procedures, and overview. In the end, a good plan will actually save you money. In the alternative, we are happy to help you with our proven lien resolution plans to keep you off of the US Attorney’s radar. Call us at 844.633.5436 for more information!