Q:  Who is the Lien Resolution Administrator?

A:  The Federal Court overseeing the Vioxx Settlement Program has appointed The Garretson Law Firm to serve as the Vioxx Settlement Lien Resolution Administrator (LRA). The Garretson Law Firm has served in similar capacities in many other mass tort settlements and has the experience and resources to satisfy and discharge these liens / obligations as efficiently as possible (www.garretsonfirm.com and www.lienresolution.com ).

Q:  Under the settlement terms, what liens/obligations are being addressed by the Lien Resolution Administrator and what are the responsibilites of plaintiff to counsel?

A:   The Master Settlement Agreement tasks the LRA with resolving government liens and obligations arising out of the Vioxx Settlement.  These are traditional Medicare (Parts A and B) and Medicaid liens and obligations, which the LRA will address and resolve affirmatively (meaning the LRA will facilitate resolution by working directly with Medicare and Medicaid on behalf of all Enrolling Claimants as a condition of the Claimants’ participation in the Vioxx Settlement Program).  Also included in the category of “governmental authority liens” are those asserted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), TRICARE and Indian Health Services, which the LRA also will address on a case-by-case basis upon notice provided by a Enrolling Claimant, his or her counsel, or the agencies.

Under the Master Settlement Agreement, the LRA does not have the task of addressing other healthcare liens, such as those arising under private insurance, ERISA and other employee health plans or supplemental / replacement coverage (MediGap, Medicare or Medicaid HMO) offered through private insurance companies.  It is the responsibility of plaintiff counsel and your clients to address all of these other private / third party liens and claims.  However, plaintiff counsel may contact The Garretson Law Firm to address private healthcare liens separate and independent from the LRA engagement.

For each Enrolling Claimant, plaintiff counsel MUST complete the Lien Information Tab on the Primary Counsel Web Portal at www.browngreer.com/vioxxsettlement.  Even if the Enrolling Claimant is not entitled to any government healthcare programs, plaintiff counsel must check “Claimant has NOT been entitled to any of the above-mentioned government benefits at any time since their first date of ingestion of Vioxx” on the “Lien Information” tab on the Primary Counsel Web Portal.

Q:  Should I contact Medicare of Medicaid if my client is entitled to these benefits, or for any other reason? 

A:   No.  The LRA will identify, satisfy, and discharge all Medicare and Medicaid obligations in the Vioxx settlement.  The LRA is equipped with information which allows it to identify all Enrolling Claimants who have an obligation to either Medicare or Medicaid, and facilitate resolution of those obligations.  Neither you nor your clients need to do anything to address their Medicare or Medicaid obligations.  Any agency contact by someone outside the LRA will result in duplicate files being created at the respective agency and delay resolution.  However, if you have contacted or been contacted by Medicare or Medicaid, please see the next question.

Q:  What if I already have contacted or have been contacted by Medicare or Medicaid?

A:  If you or your client has received notice and/or placed these agencies on notice (“notice claimants”), your immediate cooperation is required.  Immediately access the Claims Administrator Primary Counsel Web Portal at www.browngreer.com/vioxxsettlement.  Go to the “Lien Information” tab, and update each of your clients’ profiles to capture which government benefit programs your clients are receiving or have received since their first date of ingestion, and which have provided a notice of claim/lien.  In addition, separately scan (in PDF form) all inbound and outbound correspondence with the above-mentioned agencies, and title each claimant-specific file with the claimant’s 9-digit social security number.  Burn this information onto a CD-ROM and send to the LRA at the address listed at the end of this FAQ.  In the alternative, properly-labeled hard copies may be sent if more convenient.  ALL OF THIS MUST BE DONE BEFORE FEBRUARY 29, 2008.  (Also, please send to the LRA any other notice received by government benefit programs after the February 29, 2008, deadline).

Upon collection of these materials from the various plaintiff firms by the deadline of February 29, 2008, the LRA will contact each firm to validate the “notice claimant” listing and provide a template letter that your firm will place on its letterhead and send to the interested agency re-directing all future activity to the LRA.

A Lien Questionnaire is included with the email from the Claims Administrator introducing the LRA (which also included these FAQs for Plaintiffs Attorneys and the Educational Materials on Government Medical Liens for your clients).  While the Educational Materials must be sent by you to all clients, the Lien Questionnaire is optional, as it is intended to gather information about the client’s government benefit programs and / or which government programs provided your clients with notice of a claim if that information has not or is not already being captured by your firm.

Recall from #2, above, that even if the Enrolling Claimant is not entitled to any government healthcare programs, plaintiff counsel must check “Claimant has NOT been entitled to any of the above-mentioned government benefits at any time since their first date of ingestion of Vioxx” on the “Lien Information” tab on the Primary Counsel Web Portal.

Q:  How will Medicare and Medicaid liens/obligations be addressed?

A:  With respect to Medicare, the LRA will: (i) verify the Enrolling Claimants in the Settlement Program who are (or have been) entitled to Medicare and who may have potential Medicare obligations related to Vioxx, and  (ii) facilitate a “global” resolution to satisfy and discharge Medicare’s interest for all Medicare-entitled Enrolling Claimants.  The LRA will work with the Claims Administrator and Special Masters to ensure that the allocation system recognizes the application of the Medicare global resolution in the settlements of those entitled Claimants.  Regardless of the extent to which any Medicare-entitled Enrolling Claimant has relied on his / her Medicare coverage in the past, this formalized process ensures that no future injury-related care will be denied as a result of this tort recovery.

With respect to Medicaid, the LRA will verify which Enrolling Claimants currently are or have been Medicaid beneficiaries in each state and territory between the dates of ingestion through the date of settlement.  The LRA will then secure claims histories from the appropriate Medicaid agency and audit each claim to help ensure that only those medical expenses associated with Vioxx-related injuries are included in the final reimbursement or “lien” amount.  The perfected lien will be deducted from the entitled plaintiff’s Settlement Payment.  

Q:  When can I expect my clients' Medicare and Medicaid liens/obligations to be satisfied?

A:  Medicare’s interest in the settlement at large will be globally satisfied by the LRA – a task which is expected to be complete prior to the interim payment scheduled for August, 2008.

The majority of Medicaid liens are expected to be resolved prior to any Enrolling Claimant’s interim payment.  For any Medicaid liens not finalized by that time, the LRA will have “hold backs” in place to enable immediate partial payment to affected Enrolling Claimants.

Q:  Who do I contact with questions regarding the satisfaction of Medicare or Medicaid interests?

A:  Should plaintiff counsel need to contact the LRA, please use the information on the Contact page.  Furthermore, the LRA’s verification of entitlement, any lien-related “hold backs” and final resolution efforts will be incorporated and available through the Claim Administrator’s data base.

Q:  What other governmental statutory lienholders exist besides Medicare and Medicaid?

A:  In addition to Medicare and Medicaid, the LRA has been tasked with resolving the healthcare liens and obligations of other federal agencies with statutory liens.  These include the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and TRICARE for Enrolling Claimants who are either retired or active military as well as Indian Health Services (IHS) for Native American Claimants.  However, this does not include liens or obligations asserted by government employee health plans, which must be addressed separately (please see section entitled “ERISA, Private Insurance, and Other Liens” below).

Q:  Do I or my client need to do anything to deal with healthcare liens/obligations asserted by the VA, TRICARE, or Indian Health Affairs?

A:  Yes.  However, your only obligation is to notify the LRA if your client is entitled (evidenced by your client intake information, medical records or the optional Lien Questionnaire described below) and whether notice of lien has been received.  The LRA will satisfy and discharge these liens upon notification by Enrolling Claimant, plaintiff attorneys or by the respective agencies.    If you or your client has received notice and / or placed these agencies on notice (“notice claimants”), your immediate cooperation is required.  Immediately access the Claims Administrator Primary Counsel Web Portal at www.browngreer.com/vioxxsettlement.  Go to the “Lien Information” tab, and update each of your clients’ profiles to capture which government benefit programs your clients are receiving or have received since their first date of ingestion, and which have provided a notice of claim / lien. In addition, separately scan (in PDF form) all inbound and outbound correspondence with the above-mentioned agencies, and title each claimant-specific file with the claimant’s 9-digit social security number.  Burn this information onto a CD-ROM and send to the LRA at the address listed at the end of this FAQ.  In the alternative, properly-labeled hard copies may be sent if more convenient.  ALL OF THIS MUST BE DONE BEFORE FEBRUARY 29, 2008. (Also, please send to the LRA any other notice received by government benefit programs after the February 29, 2008, deadline).

Upon collection of these materials from the various plaintiff firms by the deadline of February 29, 2008, the LRA will contact each firm to validate the “notice claimant” listing and provide a template letter that your firm will place on its letterhead and send to the interested agency re-directing all future activity to the LRA.

A Lien Questionnaire is included with the email from the Claims Administrator introducing the LRA (which also included these FAQs for Plaintiffs Attorneys and the Educational Materials on Government Medical Liens for your clients).  While the Educational Materials must be sent by you to all clients, the Lien Questionnaire is optional, as it is intended to gather information about the client’s government benefit programs and / or which government programs provided your clients with notice of a claim if that information has not or is not already being captured by your firm.

Recall from #2, above, that even if the Enrolling Claimant is not entitled to any governmental authority statutory liens, plaintiff counsel must check “Claimant has NOT been entitled to any of the above-mentioned government benefits at any time since their first date of ingestion of Vioxx” on the “Lien Information” tab on the Primary Counsel Web Portal.

Q:  How will these military and IHS liens be addressed?

A:  All military and IHS liens will be addressed by securing, auditing and perfecting actual injury-related expenditures for each Enrolling Claimant, unless a “global” solution like that defined above for Medicare can be achieved.  Regardless of the approach, the LRA’s established protocols for addressing these liens en masse will expedite this process while satisfying and discharging any statutory obligation owed by you or your clients. 

Q:  Who do I contact with questions concerning these military and IHS liens?

A:  Should plaintiff counsel need to contact the LRA, please use the information on the Contact page. Furthermore, the LRA’s verification of entitlement, any lien-related “hold backs” and final resolution efforts will be incorporated and available through the Claim Administrator’s data base.

Q:  What about ERISA, private insurance and other healthcare liens?

A:  The LRA engagement does NOT include the task of addressing healthcare liens other than those government liens and obligations specifically outlined above.  Other healthcare liens and obligations are to be resolved by plaintiff counsel and your clients, including those asserted under ERISA, FEHBA, or other employee health plans, private health insurance, private Medicare supplements / replacements (like MediGap Insurance, Medicare HMO or Medicaid HMO plans) offered through private insurance companies, and others. 

Plaintiff counsel may contact The Garretson Law Firm to address private healthcare liens separate and independent from the LRA engagement.