Skip to main content

Erroneous Refunds to Medicare Part D beneficiaries must be repaid.

A Federal Appeals Court has ruled that the Medicare Part D beneficiaries who were erroneously mailed a premium refund do not have the right to apply for a waiver excusing them from repaying it. This new decision overturns a prior ruling by a federal district court ordering the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to halt efforts to collect the mistaken refunds.
In August 2006, about 230,000 people were mailed refunds for their Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums and told to pay their carrier directly. Although this was not correct, no one ever admitted how the mistake was made. Almost immediately, the government insisted that the money (about $215 per beneficiary) be paid back by the end of September. The Center for Medicare Advocacy filed suit on behalf of two senior’s rights groups, arguing that Medicare law states that the government cannot recover an overpayment if the beneficiary was not at fault and if such recovery would violate “equity and good conscience.”
Last September, the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., agreed and issued an injunction ordering CMS to send a notice to the beneficiaries stating that each has a right under federal law to request a waiver of the obligation to repay the funds. CMS appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, which recently overruled the District Court. While calling the government's mistake “a monumental gaffe,” the Appeals Court ruled that the right to ask CMS to waive the repayment of an incorrect payment applies only to a “provider of services” for “items or services furnished an individual,” and, “it has nothing to do with erroneous refunds of Medicare premiums.” If you received such a refund, and have yet to pay it back, it appears you will now have to do so.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Stratfor - When Things Go Bad

I regularly read reports from Stratfor - an information service that comments on world affairs, terrorism and even personal safety.  This report is good reading to help anyone survive a bad situation. I thought it was worth repeating. When Things Go Bad By Scott Stewart Over the past several weeks, we [Stratfor] have discussed a number of different situations that can present a common problem to people caught up in them. First, we discussed how  domestic terrorism remains a persistent threat  in the United States, and that despite improvements in security measures since 2001,  soft targets still remain vulnerable to attack  by terrorist actors driven by a variety of motivations. Due to the devolution of the jihadist threat toward the grassroots, there is also a growing trend of jihadist actors using armed assaults instead of bombing attacks. We also discussed the  continuing problem of workplace violence , and finally, we discussed last week  evacuation plans for expatriates

4 Planning Tips for Parents of Disabled Children

Buy enough life insurance . You can’t be replaced, but someone will have to fill in if you aren’t there. Your family will probably have to pay for some services that you used to provide. You can provide the money necessary, even if you don’t have much now, with life insurance. Set up a trust . Any assets left for a child with special needs, including life insurance proceeds, should be held in trust. Leaving money directly to someone with a special need jeopardizes public benefits. Some families disinherit children with special needs, relying on siblings to care for them. This approach is fraught with potential problems. The best approach is a trust fund set aside for the child with special needs. Write down the care plan . You must write down what a future caregiver will need to know about your special needs child. You may know everything but you need to write it down so it can be passed on. The memo or letter can be kept in the attorney's files or with the parent's estate plan

It's really Spring!

It's clearly Spring around here.  On the way to work this morning I saw several groups of Turkeys.  In each group there was at least one male presenting his tail for the females.  This looks like the classic picture you see of a Turkey around Thanksgiving with his big tail unfurled like a peacock.  But, you won't see that in November, it is courting behavior used in the Spring to find a mate.  Imagine if we humans had some sort of mating system like that.  The males puff themselves up, furl out their tails and strut around waiting for a female to find them attractive ... that would be something  ... oh, wait! Three Turkeys at my Bird Feeder - April 2011 (C) Edward Adamsky, 2011