CMS: Set-Aside Administrators Should Be Watchdogs on Opioids, Benzos

If older injured workers are having trouble deciding if they should go with a professional administrator on a Medicare set-aside plan, the federal government has some advice: Just do it — especially if the beneficiary is prescribed what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services calls “frequently abused drugs,” such as opioids and benzodiazepines. “With this, CMS is recognizing professional administrators as an extension of Medicare, in a way,” said Shawn Deane, general counsel at Ametros, one of the larger MSA administration firms in the country. “It&#...