October 14, 2021 Rasa Fumagalli JD, MSCC, CMSP-F As we reflect on the 20th anniversary of the devastating September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on US soil and all the lives lost, we cannot forget the heroic efforts of all the first responders and workers involved in the clean-up of the devastation sites. Since then, many […]
September 9, 2021 Samantha Webster Structured settlements may be used to fund a Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA). Samantha Webster, Synergy’s Director of Case Management, addresses two common questions that come up about funding of a WCMSA with a structured settlement annuity. Question #1: “Are there different structured settlement options to fund a Medicare Set-Aside […]
July 28, 2021 Rasa Fumagalli JD, MSCC, CMSP-F Introducing “Since You Asked,” Synergy’s first in a series of columns addressing MSP compliance questions in the area of workers’ compensation. Question: “My client is settling her case and does not know what to do with her Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA) funds. I’m not quite sure […]
May 13, 2021 Rasa Fumagalli JD, MSCC, CMSP-F The conditional payment recovery process in a workers’ compensation claim is not always smooth. Although the workers’ compensation insurance carrier will generally resolve any conditional payments in an accepted claim, the injured employee and counsel may find themselves in receipt of a post-settlement conditional payment notice or […]
April 8, 2021 Rasa Fumagalli JD, MSCC, CMSP-F The nature of the Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA) has evolved over the years since the 2001 Patel Memo. That evolution has seen us move from every WCMSA that met the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) internal workload review threshold being submitted to CMS for […]
What do you do when you settle a case like this where your client is on public assistance, there are allocation issues, settlement planning issues must be addressed, and there are liens to negotiate? Where can you “park” the money while you set up any necessary public benefit preservation trusts, determine allocation of the proceeds, figure out a financial plan, and negotiate the liens?
February 11, 2021 Rasa Fumagalli, JD, MSCC, CMSP-F Securing CMS review of a Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA) proposal can, at times, be cumbersome. Once the CMS WCMSA determination letter is received, parties may often just close their files after the settlement funds are disbursed. This brief article will address the frequently overlooked CMS determination […]
B Josh Pettingill Appropriate settlement language can make a significant impact on the total amount of the workers’ compensation settlement, as well as dollars that the injured worker receives. This brief article will provide plaintiff/applicant attorneys with the requisite settlement language to maximize the workers’ compensation recovery, as well as protect their respective firms and […]
Evidence Based MSAs (EBMSAs) have taken the workers’ compensation industry by storm the past several years.