Medicare program; third party liability insurance regulations. Final rule with comment period

This final rule with comment period removes Sec. 411.54(c)(2) and a portion of Sec. 489.20(g) from our regulations. These regulations were held by a court to be inconsistent with the Medicare Secondary Payer provisions that are found in section 1862(b)(2)(a) of the Social Security Act. Specifically, the court held that Sec. 411.54(c)(2) and a portion of Sec. 489.20(g) are unenforceable to the extent that these regulations require providers and suppliers to only bill Medicare and prohibits them from billing a liability insurer or asserting or maintaining a lien against a beneficiary's liability insurance settlement during the "promptly" period.