Government shutdown & Medicare Secondary Payer impact

January 22, 2018 / 1 min read

The federal government shutdown began on 12:01 a.m. EST this past Saturday, as a prior short-term spending bill expired and the failure of a short-term funding bill failed to pass the Senate. As of this alert, on Monday, January 22, 2018, the shutdown is still in effect.

Based on our investigation, here is what we know as of this time regarding the shutdown’s impact on MSP related matters:

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Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) operations will not be affected as they are essential and considered part of the Medicare Integrity Program. Thus, operations at the applicable MSP contractors (whose funds have been budgeted), including the WCRC, CRC and BCRC will remain normal.

However, were are receiving word that an increasing number of Social Security Administration (SSA) offices across the country will not be fulfilling requests for benefits verification by third-parties during the shutdown. For WCMSA submitters, this may cause a delay in determining social security disability status.

There are reports that Congress may be close to reaching an agreement on a short-term spending bill that could possibly end the shutdown, with any applicable bill to be sent to the President later today. However, this is a fluid situation that can change quickly one way or another. We will continue to monitor Congressional events related to this matter.

ISO Claims Partners is following this issue closely and will provide updates as they become available.

Any questions, please contact the author via phone at 978-825-8158 or via email at shawn.deane@verisk.com.