McClatchy Newspapers reported on personal injury lawyers who “represent Medicare beneficiaries who’ve been in accidents. Medicare has paid their hospital costs, which must be reimbursed once the victim reaches a damage settlement with the party at fault.” But lawyers “said that Medicare can be extremely slow to tell them what its share of the settlement should be, taking several months and as much as a year or more. That can prevent them from engaging in damage negotiations with the liable party’s insurer, or from reaching an agreement and distributing the money if they already have.” AAJ director of regulatory affairs Gerie Voss said, “Many consumers who are waiting on money that they deserve are either experiencing a ridiculous level of delay or not even getting money.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
