Free Copy Services for MSA Referrals
Our firm now offers free copy services for MSA referrals in select locations, currently including Irving, TX; Sacramento, CA; and Tampa, FL. We'll send an associate directly to your office to prepare an MSA referral (copy the file and complete our submission form). If you'd like more information about our new, free copy services, please contact us.
New Service - Medical Cost Reserve Setting
We're pleased to announce a new service offered by Protocols, LLC. Medical Cost Reserve Setting provides medical cost projections for use at any time over the life of a claim. The service can be especially useful for catastrophic and complex cases, and may be utilized for accurate medical reserving or for settlement purposes.
For more information on Protocols' upcoming service, please contact Penni Urbach.
SHD&P Litigation Against CMS
As many have already heard, SHD&P, LLC and Protocols, LLC have filed a declaratory judgment action against CMS in Denver. It is our policy not to comment on active litigation. The goal of our lawsuit is to clarify the law for our firms as well as the entire industry. None of our current or past clients are participating in this lawsuit. Please direct any questions, concerns, or requests for pleadings to Henry M. Kohnlein, Esq. or Robert L. Sagrillo, Esq.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Must we submit a claimant's complete medical file to CMS with a proposal?
A: Yes, a claimant's complete medical file must be submitted to CMS as an exhibit to an MSA proposal to ensure an accurate determination by CMS. Otherwise, information withheld could cause CMS to alter its decisions in the future.
Q: When will SHD&P's website be finished?
A: Soon! Our draft site is completed. We're polishing the draft site, and our final site will be available within several days. We'll send out a special announcement once our final site becomes available.
MSA Approval Update
The average time from submission of a Medicare Set-Aside proposal until CMS approval received last month approached 27 weeks. This timeframe shows continued improvement over the past six month average of approximately 31 weeks. Although CMS claims to conclude its review within 45 to 60 days, our statistics show that their process takes significantly longer.
Unfortunately, CMS' acknowledgment letter response time has slowed dramatically over the past several weeks. While CMS' acknowledgment letters were received after approximately 19 days throughout previous months, we're still awaiting many acknowledgment letters for proposals submitted up to 9 weeks ago.
Please note, approval of our proposals may require slightly more time than our competitors' proposals because we advocate for the lowest MSA amount that CMS is willing to accept.
Staff Spotlight - MSA Consultant
Our Staff Spotlight intends to help our clients get to know the people behind our firm. This month's spotlight focuses on Alaina Reilly, MSA Consultant. Raised in Colorado, Alaina graduated from Coe College with a degree in Political Science and English. Alaina has been with SHD&P since December 2004, and also works with the Colorado Chapter of the National MS Society. She plans to attend law school in 2006 to focus primarily on Constitutional Law, and currently enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling, and taking advantage of Colorado's outdoor activities.
In This Issue:
Free Copy Services for MSA Referrals
New Service - Medical Cost Reserve Setting
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