Learn why the Medicare Secondary Payer Master Class has become the must-attend conference for those responsible for Medicare Secondary Payer compliance. Industry expert Rafael Gonzalez, Esq., the person who inspired the annual event, explains.
Gonzalez, president of UnitedHealth Group/Optum Workers Compensation and Auto No-Fault Settlement Solutions, speaks at roughly 50 conferences each year about Medicare Secondary Payer compliance issues. But those conferences only offer one or two hours on Medicare/Medicaid compliance for insurers and the topic is limited to the latest case, issue, or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) development.
That’s why RISE and Gonzalez partnered five years ago to produce The Medicare Secondary Payer Master Class and provide a review of the four aspects of the Medicare Secondary Payer compliance world: Legislative and regulatory proposals and changes, Mandatory Insurer Reporting, Conditional Payments, and Medicare Set-Asides. The 5th annual event will take place Feb. 3-4, 2020, in Jacksonville, Fla.
“What RISE has done is revolutionary in my view. We are diving in deep. We are spending two days on everything you can think of related to Medicare Secondary Payer compliance. The rest of the year we dive even deeper on specific subject matters, but this specific conference gives you everything that is going on related to Medicare Secondary Payer compliance. It’s unique in the industry and it is focused on the payer,” says Gonzalez. “If you can only attend one conference a year, this is the one you should go to for all components of Medicare Secondary Payer compliance.”
Speakers will also review the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking changes and how they will affect Medicare Secondary Payer functions—if, that is, the CMS releases the proposal prior to the conference. The proposals, which are expected to include changes to the civil monetary penalties and Medicare Set-Asides, were originally scheduled for release in September and then delayed to October. However, on November 20th, the Office of Management and Budget within the Executive Office of the President of the United States announced December 2019 as the new release date for civil monetary penalties and February 2020 for Medicare Set-Asides.
Gonzalez says he is especially excited about the caliber of the 20-plus speakers, all subject matter experts. “These are industry folks who are working in this area, many who are presidents or vice presidents of their organizations who are knee deep in the Medicare Secondary Payer compliance world, working primarily on a national basis so they see trends in different areas of the country and they can talk eloquently about all sides of the fence, the claimants, the beneficiary, the employer, the carrier, the insurer or the federal government perspective about what’s going on,” he says. “I’m so grateful they’ve accepted my invitation to share their knowledge, expertise, and their experiences. It’s really magnificent because we are changing the landscape of education in this area.”
The first day of the program will focus on the legislative and legal updates on all components of Medicare Secondary Payer compliance and Mandatory Insurer Reporting issues. The second day will focus on Conditional Payments resolution and Medicare Set-Asides.
One of the most anticipated sessions will take place on the first day of the program and will focus on the effect mandatory insurer reporting has on conditional payment recovery. Attendees will hear from Rose Arellano, director of outreach recovery, Performant Financial Corporation, Commercial Repayment Center (CRC). The CRC was hired by CMS to handle the day-to-day administration of conditional payment reimbursement issues, so Arellano will be able to address how the contractor identifies cases and identifies payments that the federal government thinks are related to a claim. She will also discuss current process and procedure that the agency uses when seeking reimbursement, including referring unpaid debts to the U.S. Treasury.
“I think it’s going to be a highlight of the program to bring in a federal government contractor who is responsible for handling hundreds of thousands of cases into a room to answer questions. We are lucky to have them join us so we can get their perspective about what they are seeing,” he says.
In addition to the indepth sessions, attendees will have several opportunities to network with their peers, speakers, and sponsors. Gonzalez says he is always struck by how willing people are to share their ideas and solutions to problems. “I think the best part of the conference is the ability to ask questions and network and build relationships and find out what others are doing. I love that,” he says.
The 5th annual Medicare Secondary Payer Master Class will take place Feb. 3-4, 2020, at One Ocean Resort in Florida. Click here for the brochure to see the full agenda.