On October 17, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued notice of an updated Self-Administration Toolkit for Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set Asides (WCMSA). The new Toolkit (Version 1.3, dated October 10, 2019) contains minor updates related to electronic attestation through the Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set Aside Portal (WCMSAP). A copy of the new Toolkit can be found here.
In pertinent part, Section 8 (“Annual Attestation”) is updated to indicate:
If you are a beneficiary administering your own account, you can submit your yearly attestation online by accessing the WCMSA Portal through the MyMedicare.gov website.
If you are a representative or other identified administrator for the account, you can log in directly to the WCMSA Portal to submit the yearly attestation.
The WCMSAP User Guide, available under the Reference Materials header once you log in to the site, has details about submitting your attestation online. The wording on the forms is the same as you will find later in this toolkit.
As we’ve previously reported, CMS is allowing for individuals, their representatives and professional administrators to submit electronic attestations through the WCMSAP. There will be upcoming webinars held on this topic.
In addition, Section 10 (“Inheritance”) is also updated to provide additional clarifying language around procedures if a claimant dies before the WCMSA is completely exhausted and now contains verbiage more in line with the WCMSA Reference Guide. In part, this section states:
In this case, the Medicare Regional Office (RO) and the BCRC will make sure that all bills related to the WC claim have been paid. This may involve holding the WCMSA open for some time after the date of death, as health care providers can submit their first bill to Medicare up to 12 months after the date of service. Then any amount left over in the WCMSA may be paid out according to state law, once Medicare’s interests have been protected. Often, the settlement itself will state how to spend funds after the death of the claimant and payment of care-related expenses.
With the recent changes to the WCMSAP User Guide and now the Toolkit, CMS is finalizing the rollout of electronic attestation submission. If you have any questions relative to the changes in the Toolkit or electronic submission, please do not hesitate to contact Shawn Deane: sdeane@ametros.com
