MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MSP Recovery today announced that a court has certified a class-action lawsuit under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, a major legal victory paving the way for billions of taxpayer dollars to go back to health insurers, helping replenish Medicare and Social Security for Americans.
MSP Recovery is the only entity in the U.S. with class certification status under the federal Medicare Secondary Payer Act. The landmark ruling enables it to recover reimbursements on behalf of health insurance plans and Medicare Advantage Organizations from primary payers that neglected to pay medical claims they were legally required to pay. Thanks to these legal wins, these primary payers, including automobile and other insurance entities, will be required to pay double-damage reimbursements for their failure to pay the medical claims.
The case is among hundreds of similar cases being brought by MSP Recovery in state and federal courts nationwide. To identify claims, MSP Recovery uses its proprietary technology to identify primary payers who improperly billed Medicare entities. Using this system, the 30-attorney MSP Recovery Law Firm is working with approximately 30 partner law firms nationwide to file lawsuits across the country on behalf of more than 100 health insurance plans.
The court win highlights an emerging area of the law and reaffirms that the neglect of automobile insurance companies to cover medical bills constitutes a breach of contract.
“We are proud to be the first law firm in the country to secure class certification under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, a highly challenging achievement that other lawyers have attempted for decades,” said Frank Quesada, MSP Recovery Law Firm General Counsel.
Added MSP Recovery Founder, John H. Ruiz, “Our groundbreaking work will recover billions of dollars to replenish Medicare and Social Security for all Americans, while also forcing primary payers to comply with the law. We are already starting to see insurers change their practices as a result of our wins, and we will continue leading the charge as America’s Medicaid and Medicare Secondary Payer Act recovery specialists.”
Some background on the case (No. 15-27940-CA 21): MSP Recovery secured class certification of a class-action lawsuit against IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company, with the court allowing MSP Recovery to pursue several thousand instances where the auto insurer failed to pay medical bills it was legally required to pay. MSP Recovery currently has more than 60 related class actions pending against different auto insurers and is in the process of filing an additional 300-plus class-actions nationwide on similar grounds.
This marks MSP Recovery’s second landmark victory of this kind. Similarly, in Case No. 2015-1946-CA 06, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Samantha Ruiz Cohen recently certified a class in a lawsuit against Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance, a primary payer for thousands of Medicare Part C beneficiaries. In a 100-plus page decision, Judge Cohen ruled that MSP Recovery could pursue the 3,000-plus instances where the auto insurer failed to pay medical bills it was legally required to pay. The win in MSP Recovery v. Ocean Harbor is the first of its kind in U.S. history.
About MSP Recovery
MSP Recovery is the nation’s leading Medicare and Medicaid recovery specialist. It has developed the industry’s most comprehensive recovery platform, specializing in recoveries and reimbursements on claims where the law places primary payment responsibility on other payers. MSP Recovery uses its proprietary technology to identify primary payers that improperly billed Medicare entities. More information is available at www.msprecovery.com
Editor’s Notes: Interviews and copies of court rulings and other documents are available upon request
