Medicare Endorsement

Question: I appreciate your informative website. I note in your 10/26/09 posting that you address two methods of obtaining Medicare's endorsement of a multi-party settlement check. You note that, where the check is sent to Medicare for deposit and refund of net proceeds, Medicare will wait 5 days before sending the refund check. MSPRC advises, however, that it may take up to 10 weeks after deposit of the multi-party check before they are given the go-ahead by CMS to pay the refund. In your experience, are they able to get the refund check turned around in 5 days or should I expect to wait the 10 weeks? Thanks, again, for such a great resource.

Louisiana Attorney

Answer: If a demand letter has been established on the case, then Medicare’s finance department would be able to apply the remitted check and issue a refund for the balance accordingly. The refund process would take at least the 10 weeks. If the demand has not been established, the check is still deposited but would remain in "unapplied check" status until there is an appropriate record set up in the system. In the later scenario, I would advise that you contact Medicare if the issuance of the check preceded the issuance of a demand. Unapplied checks have been known to sit at Medicare for an extensive period of time as the various departments are not always aware of each other's activities.

It would also be imperative for the Claimant’s Medicare number to be on the check so that it can be applied to the appropriate account. All of their systems are driven by this number and can slow down the process further if not provided.

If I can be of any assistance, please call me and I would be happy to discuss any further questions or concerns.