Starting June 4, 2022, CMS Will Use the 2019 CDC Life Table for WCMSAs

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May 31, 2022
By Sid Wong, J.D.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that beginning June 4, 2022, it will use the new 2019 CDC Life Table to calculate adjusted 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:

Beginning June 4, 2022, CMS will utilize the CDC’s “Table 1: Life Table for the total population: United States, 2019” for the Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set Aside life expectancy calculations. A link to the CDC’s 2019 Life Tables can be found in the Related Links section at the bottom of this page.

You may download the current 2019 life table here.

If you have questions or would like more information, please feel free to e-mail the author at Sidney.Wong@verisk.com.

Sid Wong, J.D.

Sid Wong is the Vice President of Policy at Verisk Casualty. In this capacity Sid monitors and evaluates the changing state of Medicare Secondary Payer compliance to develop impactful solutions to emerging MSP issues and works to ensure that Verisk’s Casualty’s policies, products, and services continue to align with the MSP landscape. He also oversees Verisk Casualty’s policy team, which provides policy and compliance support for all of Verisk Casualty’s clients. During his tenure he has served as Legal Director, Assistant Director of Services, Client Solutions Manager, and MSP Compliance Manager. Sid is a subject matter expert on MSAs, Conditional Payment Recovery, and Section 111 reporting. He collaborates with clients to develop best practices and respond to any compliance or policy questions, whether it’s a case level issue or evaluating a process impacting the larger organization. He regularly presents at industry conferences and provides training for clients.

Prior to joining Verisk, Sid worked for a small general practice firm in New Hampshire where he received his JD from University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. Sid is a member of the MA, NH, and NY bar, the IAIABC, NAMSAP, MARC, and is MSCC certified.