ALLEGATIONS THAT BILLIONS OF DOLLAR OWED TO MEDICARE NOT COLLECTED -- WILL EXAMINE MEDICARE SECONDARY PAYER SYSTEM FOR IMPROVEMENT
 

Washington, Jun 21 -

“As a ‘primary payer,’ Medicare pays beneficiaries’ health claims first, and if a beneficiary has other insurance, that insurance pays what is not covered by Medicare,” stated Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.  “The Medicare Secondary Payer system was put in place to protect Medicare funds by ensuring that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is reimbursed for health care services that insurance companies and other entities are responsible for paying.   In this hearing, we will look at problems in the Medicare Secondary Payer system and how to improve it and protect the fiscal integrity of Medicare.”

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee is holding a hearing entitled “Protecting Medicare with Improvements to the Secondary Payer Regime.”   The hearing will be on Wednesday, June 22, 2011, at 10:00 AM in Room 2322 RHOB.  

There will be two panels of witnesses:

Panel 1 -- Ms. Deborah Taylor, Director of Financial Management Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and Mr. James Cosgrove, Director of Health Care, Government Accountability Office.

Panel 2 -- Mr. Marc Salm, Vice President of Risk Management, Publix Supermarkets, Inc.; Mr. Scott Gilliam, Vice President, Cincinnati Insurance Company; Mr. Jason Matzus, Partner, Raizman Frischman & Matzus, P.C.; and Ms. Ilene Stein, Federal Policy Director, Medicare Rights Center.