The funds for your MSA must be deposited in a separate, interest-bearing account under your name.

If you currently enjoy professional administration of your MSA as an Opal customer, or plan to do so in the future, please call us at 877-551-3900 and our team of experienced specialists can help.

If you currently self-administer your MSA or plan to do so in the future, Onyx can provide the instructions, forms, and resources (including telephone support) that you need to stay in compliance. Learn more about Onyx, and contact us anytime.

There are no specific requirements for this. We suggest an interest-bearing checking account, so you have immediate and ongoing access to the funds for payment of covered medical services.

The MSA account does not need a special name. You just need to know that this separate account is only for use with injury-related services that would otherwise be paid by Medicare.

You can add a family member as a co-signor on the account.

It is up to you to determine at the time the appointment is made whether the main purpose for the appointment is for care for the covered injury or not. It is your responsibility to request payment from your MSA account or have the services billed to Medicare accordingly.

No. Transportation is not an expense that is covered by Medicare and therefore not payable from an MSA account.

No. This is not a payable expense, because eyeglasses are not payable under Medicare guidelines. Even though glasses were paid for by your workers’ compensation carrier, funds were not included in your set-aside for replacement glasses because they are not a covered expense from an MSA account.

If you are not utilizing professional administration or self-administration support services, you may contact your state’s division of workers’ compensation to obtain that state’s fee schedule or work with your provider’s billing office for fee schedule information. CMS requires that you make your best effort to pay for injury-related services at the rate that was used for the allocation and approved by CMS.

Yes, CMS permits injury-related photocopying charges, mailing fees/postage, and any bank fees related to the account to be paid or reimbursed from your MSA account.

No. All interest earned on the account is to accrue in the account for payment of your allowable expenses. You may reimburse yourself for any taxes you pay on interest earned from the MSA account.

If any of the MSA funds are determined by Medicare to have been used inappropriately, Medicare will refuse to cover any injury-related services until they receive documentation that the funds have been restored to the account and used appropriately. If Medicare’s interests are not considered at all, Medicare can refuse to cover any medical services related to the injury until the equivalent of the entire settlement is expended on injury-related care.

Also, money in your MSA account and any interest it earns may be taxed. If you pay tax on the interest, the MSA Account reimburses for the tax paid.  Additionally any MSA money used for non-qualified expenses will be taxed and subjected to an additional 50% tax penalty.

No. The accounting/attestation form is to be mailed each year to the Non-Group Health Plan (NGHP). (An attestation is a signed statement: you are “attesting to” your appropriate use of the money.)

This is one of the services included with Opal.

The current address is:

NGHP
P.O. Box 138832
Oklahoma City, OK 73113

The accounting/attestation form is to be mailed once a year to the Non-Group Health Plan (NGHP) beginning no later than 30 days after the anniversary of your settlement. You are to provide a separate total for prescription drug expenses and all other medical expenses paid from the account as noted on the form.

This is one of the services included with Opal.

No. If you self-administer your MSA, you should make a number of copies of the original form. The MSPRC does not mail out new forms annually.

You do. If your MSA is funded with an annual annuity payment, your account may on occasion be “temporarily depleted”. As soon as you know this will occur, you are to send in a copy of the accounting/attestation form to the Non-Group Health Plan (NGHP) with section 2 (Temporary Depletion) completed.

If the account is permanently out of money, you are to send in a copy of the accounting/attestation form to the Non-Group Health Plan (NGHP)with section 3 (Permanent Depletion) completed.

These services are included with Opal.

Temporary or permanent depletion notices are to be sent to the Non-Group Health Plan (NGHP) at the address above. These notices are the same forms used for the annual accounting, with the appropriate section filled in. You are to sign and date the accounting/attestation form, and have it witnessed by one other person, who will also sign and date the form (the signatures do not need to be notarized). Mail the completed form only to the Non-Group Health Plan (NGHP). Do not mail any check copies or receipts unless requested by the Non-Group Health Plan (NGHP). Retain all check copies, receipts, and a copy of your completed accounting/attestation form for your records.

These services are included with Opal.

If you self-administer your MSA and your account is temporarily or permanently out of funds, you are to notify your providers of any alternate insurance coverage that you may have. You will be responsible for any co-pays or out-of-pocket expenses during this period and may not reimburse yourself from the account funds when they are replenished.

Coordinating your various insurances (including Medicare) and notifying providers are services included with Opal.

No. The set-aside funds are to be kept in a separate account and to be available for covered injury-related care for your lifetime. (Previous CMS guidelines regarding early account closure were rescinded in the 8/25/08 memorandum.)

When you establish the MSA account at your bank, they should request beneficiary information from you as they would with any other bank account. If no beneficiary is named and there is no other name on the account, the funds would be payable to your estate or subject to state law.

MSA funds are meant to be primary to alternate coverage unless specifically addressed by an alternate insurance plan in your settlement. MSA funds that are not used in any given year are meant to roll over and accrue for future use as needed.

No. Your MSA account is intended to be primary (pay first) to Medicare. The Medicare set-aside is meant to protect the Medicare Trust Fund, by ensuring that no injury-related bills are sent to Medicare as long as funds remain in the MSA account.