Page 25: of Marine News Magazine (April 2013)

Medicare beneÞ ciary. If reporting entityÕs responsibility for future medical costs terminates before the claimant/plain- tiff becomes a Medicare beneÞ ciary, there is no reporting requirement. In cases involving more than one defendant, if more than one RRE has assumed responsibility for ongoing medicals, Medicare would be secondary to each such entity and, therefore, each such entity must report. There is no safe harbor for an RRE, and the status of every claimant should be veriÞ ed through the query process regard- less of the claimantÕs age or any other threshold. It is critical to start the veriÞ cation process at the onset of a new claim, or at the latest, when settlement appears to be a realistic near-term goal. The process takes time; so early submission is urged to capture any data that will be reported at settlement. Reported data is to be sent electronically from the RRE to the CMS Coordination of BeneÞ ts Contractor (COBC). Each RRE must assign or name an Authorized Representative. This in- dividual must have the legal authority to bind the organiza- tion to a contract in the terms of MMSEA ¤111 requirements and processing. The Authorized Representative has ultimate accountability for the RREÕs compliance with the reporting requirements and, therefore, cannot be an agent of the RRE. Additionally, each RRE must assign or name an Account Manager. Each RRE ID can have only one Account Man- ager. This is the individual who controls the administration of an RREÕs account and manages the overall reporting pro- cess. The Account Manager may be an RRE employee or agent. The Account Manager may choose to manage the entire account and data Þ le exchange, or may invite other company employees or data processing agents to assist. At the RREÕs discretion, the Account Manager may desig- nate other individuals to register as users of the Coordinator of BeneÞ ts Secured Website (COBSW) associated with the RREÕs account, known as Account Designees. Account Des- ignees assist the Account Manager with the reporting process and may be RRE employees or agents. There is no limit to the number of Account Designees associated with an RRE ID. In short, if you enter into a settlement, judgment, award or make other payments to a seaman or land based employee you must protect MedicareÕs interests. Failure could result in a Þ ne of $1,000 per day per claim or you may end up reim- bursing Medicare for a claimantÕs medicals years later. www.marinelink.com MN 25MN April2013 Layout 18-31.indd 25MN April2013 Layout 18-31.indd 254/1/2013 11:30:41 AM4/1/2013 11:30:41 AM