NAMSAP Says CMS’s MSA Policy Institutionalizes Opioid Abuse

NAMSAP, which has tried working directly with CMS to change its MSA opioid allocation policy, now appeals to Congress in an April 5 letter that can be found at http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.namsap.org/resource/resmgr/Congressional_Letter/Letter_to_Congress_2018_Fina.pdf.

“While the rest of the Federal government fights the opioid epidemic, CMS allocates funds for these dangerous and addictive drugs over the full life expectancy of a Medicare beneficiary at the same dosage and frequency that had been prescribed in the six to 12 months prior to MSA submission,” said NAMSAP Evidence Based Medicine Committee Co-Chair, Gary Patureau.

NAMSAP estimates that 70 percent of all CMS-approved MSAs that include prescription medication have life-long allocations for opioids. For the past five years, the organization has tried to persuade CMS to apply evidence-based medical guidelines to its MSA allocation policy; these efforts are highlighted at http://www.namsap.org/default.asp?page=EBMOpioidInitiative.

NAMSAP sent the letter to every member of Congress asking them to bring an end to the CMS policy that effectively sanctions inappropriate use of long-term opioids and effectively “causes incalculable and unimpeded dependency, addiction and death.”

About NAMSAP

The National Alliance of Medicare Set-Aside Professionals (NAMSAP) is the only non-profit association exclusively dedicated to Medicare Secondary Payer compliance and its impact on workers’ compensation and liability settlements. Through the voluntary efforts of its membership, which includes claims management, legal, clinical, pharmaceutical and technical professionals, NAMSAP is a national forum for the exchange of ideas and a driving force to educate all stakeholders impacted by the MSP statute. For more information on NAMSAP, please see www.namsap.org.