The MSPRC issued the following announcement recently:
MSPRC Self Service Information Feature
The MSPRC is in the process of adding a new feature to the current Customer Service Line: The Self Service Information Feature. This new automated feature will give callers the ability to get the most up-to-date Demand/Conditional Payment amounts and the dates those letters were issued without having to speak with a Customer Service Representative! The Self-Service Feature will be a convenient way for callers to receive accurate and consistent case information while saving time! Some additional benefits of this new feature include:
Extended Calling Hours – The Self-Service Feature will be made available for additional hours outside of the MSPRC Hours of Operation!
Shorter Wait Time – By using the Self-Service Information Feature, callers will no longer have to experience the wait time associated with speaking to a Customer Service Representative!
Unlimited number of cases inquiries on one phone call – After receiving information on a case through the Self-Service Information Feature, callers are given the option of checking multiple cases on that same call!
The Self-Service Information Feature was scheduled to go live September 30, 2011!
Given all of the information circulating lately about changes at the MSPRC and a new contractor coming in, it is interesting to see things moving so quickly. Why can’t they get conditional payment information out this quick? Maybe the pressure Congress has put on CMS is trickling down to the MSPRC. Maybe it is the Medicare Advocacy Recovery Coalition. Maybe it is the AAJ. Who knows but the better question is whether the new on hold music will be less depressing than before.
In addition, CMS announced on the MMSEA What’s New page of their website the following (posted on 9/29):
“Beginning in October 2011, CMS will implement an option to pay a fixed percentage of certain physical trauma-based liability cases with settlement amounts of $5000 or less. Detailed information on this option will be posted as an ALERT, on or before October 21, 2011, on the MSPRC website at www.MSPRC.info.
Upcoming improvements to the MSP program, expected within the next 3-9 months, include the following:
- The implementation of a MSPRC portal, where the beneficiary/representative can obtain information about Medicare’s claim payments, demand letters, etc., and input information related to a settlement, disputed claims, etc.
- The implementation of an option that allows for an immediate payment to Medicare for future medical costs that are claimed/released/effectively released in a settlement.
- The implementation of a process that provides Medicare’s conditional payment amount, prior to settlement in certain situations.”
