The Medicare Secondary Payer Act (the MSP)1 was passed in 1980 with the intent of reducing Medicare spending by prohibiting the program from making payment in situations where another entity possessed a legal or contractual obligation to provide medical treatment. Although under the MSP Medicare retains the right to make conditional payments under certain circumstances and subject to statutory recovery rights, the reality is that Medicare makes payment because the intermediary or insurance carrier representing the government program is unaware that a primary payer exists.  read more…