GAO Evaluates Medicare Secondary Payer Program, Finds Room for Improvement

A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) program to recover payments by CMS that should have been paid by non-group healthcare plans (NGHPs) (e.g., automobile insurance, no fault insurance, workers compensation) increased CMS workload, payments, and savings but had some areas where improvements could be made, according to a March 9, 2012, Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. CMS had attempted to recover Medicare payments that were the responsibility of NGHPs, but it was difficult to identify these situations until 2007 legislation that mandated that NGHPs alert CMS to these types of situations.