On March 8, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that beginning April 1, 2017, it will use the new 2012 CDC Life Table to calculate life expectancies in Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Asides (WCMSAs). The table correlates a person’s age with anticipated life expectancy, so CMS uses it to determine the appropriate length of medical treatment.
CMS’ brief announcement can be found here, and the relevant text is as follows:
CMS will begin referencing the CDC’s Table 1: Life Table for the total population: United States, 2012, for WCMSA life expectancy calculations on April 1, 2017.
The Differences Are Minor
The new CDC Life Table may affect a few previously calculated WCMSAs. However, in most cases, the differences between the prior 2011 Life Table and the current 2012 version are very minor—reflecting small changes in tenths of a year.
If you have questions or would like more information, please feel free to email the author at Sidney.Wong@verisk.com.
