Does Medicare Cover On-the-Job Injuries?

Work-related injuries can leave you suffering in pain and out of a job for months. While workers’ compensation benefits can help while you’re recovering, you may need additional benefits to take care of any long-term treatment. That’s where Medicare can help.

What Can Medicare Cover?

Medicare and Medicaid are federal programs that provide healthcare to many Americans. While these programs cover medical bills, there are some issues when it comes to workers’ compensation. Federal laws have established that Medicare and Medicaid aren’t supposed to cover costs that your employer should be providing. Medicare will pay medical bills after a certain period if your employer’s insurance won’t, but it’s done only on certain conditions.

Although this may seem like a complicated process, it’s to ensure that Medicare isn’t being “double-dipped” both during and after your recovery. However, you can file a Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement (MSA), to cover any future costs.

Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement

While there are no Medicare workers compensation benefits, MSAs can be beneficial for your long-term recovery. During your recovery process, your employer’s insurance will estimate the future cost of your recovery. After receiving that estimate, they’ll work with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to approve these funds. An MSA can be a lump-sum payment, or it can be yearly payments for a set amount of time. The funds will either come from the employee or a medical management company. After your MSA is approed, Medicare will begin covering your long-term recovery from an on-the-job injury.

Rely on Trusted Legal Services to Gain Your Medicaid Workers Compensation

The process of settling your Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement can be long and complicated. If you don’t have a legal expert on your side, you’ll be spending time you should be using to recover fighting with insurance companies. Instead of trying to navigate a workers’ compensation claim alone, contact an attorney to ensure you receive the benefits you deserve.

The lawyers at Lanzotti & Rau can help you pursue legal action to receive compensation for your work-related injury. If you want to learn more about our workers’ compensation legal services or how we handle our cases, call us today to schedule a free consultation at 573-335-9300.