You may recall that we recently blogged about whether the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Act, a Federal law, preempts State law. A Maryland case quite succinctly addressed this question several months ago finding that State law is not preempted by the MSP if certain conditions are met. This question was also addressed recently in a […] Continue
Lyrica (pregabalin) is an analog of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutryic acid, or GABA. Within the brain and nervous system, GABA plays an important role in behavior, cognition and the body’s response to stressful situations. A deficiency in naturally-occurring levels of GABA has been linked to conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and various sleep disorders. While […] Continue
An updated Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA) reference guide has been issued. The revised guide, version 2.8, can be found here. The revised WCMSA reference guide includes the following updates: Fields formerly labeled as “HICN” have been relabeled as “Medicare ID” and can accept either an Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) or the new Medicare Beneficiary […] Continue
Last week, in MSPA Claims 1 v. Kingsway Amigo Ins. Co., the 11th Circuit addressed the appropriate application of the statute of limitations under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA). At issue in the matter, was whether the Plaintiff, an assignee of a Medicare Advantage Organization (MAO), timely pursued a claim against the Defendant, a primary […] Continue
This blog series is devoted to better understanding the efforts our Federal government is undertaking to combat the opioid epidemic in America. Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a five-part strategy that will be utilized to combat the opioid epidemic. In part one of this series, we examined the […] Continue
On May 31st, the FDA approved Kitov Pharma’s application for Consensi™. Consensi is a unique combination product containing amlodipine, a calcium channel blocker used for the treatment of hypertension, and celecoxib, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory used for the treatment of osteoarthritis. The product’s labeling will include a single indication for patients for whom treatment with amlodipine […] Continue
Recently the Maryland Court of Special Appeals addressed this question, in Netro v. Greater Balt. Med. Ctr., Inc., No. 1990, 2018 Md. App. LEXIS 679 (App. July 5, 2018). You may be aware that Netro, is also a case in which the Fourth Circuit was added to the growing list of jurisdictions addressing who can […] Continue
There can be little doubt that the opioid crisis has reached staggering levels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics from 2016 reveal that on average, opioids killed about 115 Americans every day.[1] Drug overdoses have become the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 50, with opioids accounting for […] Continue
Last week, we posted about CMS’ overview webinar regarding the benefits of using the Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Portal (MSPRP), a web-based application for managing Medicare recovery cases (or conditional payments). The webinar slides from the webinar are now available for download here. If you have additional questions concerning the current functionality of the MSPRP, […] Continue
On August 16, 2018, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit remanded a case involving the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA) back to the US District Court. The case is Duncan v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 22811, and much like others before it, it is a case which involves […] Continue