The Lien Resource. Why Outsource Medical Liens & Healthcare Reimbursement?

Transcription

1 1 2 The Lien Resource Why Outsource Medical Liens & Healthcare Reimbursement? Eliminate the cost and time-drain of resolving liens in-house at no additional cost to your firm; Increase the likelihood of greater reductions and savings for your clients; The Ethics of Outsourcing As medical lien resolution has grown more complex and time-consuming for plaintiffs firms, tens of thousands of liens are now outsourced to third-parties every year. The ABA and most jurisdictions informally recognize that outsourcing medical lien resolution is appropriate in most personal injury cases. The Lien Resource adheres to the latest ABA rules recognized by other lien resolution services by ensuring the following: 1) The original attorney/client retainer agreement allows the attorney to engage outside entities for some legal and non-legal expenses which may be charged to the client; 2) The client consents to the use of an outside party for the additional fee; 3) The transaction results in a net savings to the client; 4) The charge to the client is reasonable. Resolve liens BEFORE settlement or trial whenever possible; Decrease the likelihood disputed funds will be held in trust for weeks or months after recovery; Gain peace-of-mind knowing all liens have been investigated by a licensed attorney and all claims to your client s recovery proceeds have been resolved.

2 The Ethics of Outsourcing (Cont d) Georgia Attorneys working with The Lien Resource have obtained informal advisory opinions from the Georgia bar recognizing that law firms may advance the cost of medical lien resolution as an expense to litigation and be reimbursed from the client s recovery, so long as the client consents. See Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.8 and 1.5(c). If you are concerned about the legal ethics of outsourcing these tasks to a third party, I encourage you to obtain advisement from your jurisdiction. ABA Guidelines Additionally, the ABA lists the following guidelines for outsourcing legal and non-legal services: A lawyer may outsource legal or non-legal support services provided the lawyer remains ultimately responsible for rendering competent legal services to the client under Model Rule 1.1. (ABA Standing Committee On Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Formal Opinion 08451). In complying with the rule 1.1 obligations, a lawyer who engages lawyers or non-lawyers to provide outsourced legal or non-legal services is required to comply with Rules 5.1 and 5.3. She should make reasonable efforts to ensure that the conduct of the lawyers or non-lawyers to whom tasks are outsourced is compatible with her own professional obligations as a lawyer with direct supervisory authority over them. In addition, appropriate disclosures should be made to the client regarding the use of lawyers or non-lawyers outside the lawyer s firm, and client consent should be obtained if those lawyers or nonlawyers will be receiving information protected by Rule 1.6. The fees charged must be reasonable and otherwise in compliance with Rule 1.5, and the outsourcing lawyer must avoid assisting the unauthorized practice of law under Rule 5. Compensation Payments by your firm directly to Jarrett & Price, LLC are a reimbursable legal expense. $500 + Contingency Fee Under this fee arrangement, Jarrett & Price is paid a retainer of $ to investigate the lien or healthcare plan. If paid by your firm, the $500 is a reimbursable legal expense. The additional contingency fee is equivalent to 10 percent of the total savings we obtain for your client. So, if we reduce your client s total payment obligations by $10,000, we would receive an additional $1,000. If we reduce it by $20,000, we would receive $2,000. This creates an incentive for us to obtain the greatest reduction possible. The contingent portion of the payment is typically disbursed directly from the client s recovery proceeds held in trust, pending resolution of the lien. Medicare - $500 Flat Fee We will resolve your clients Medicare Liens for a $ flat fee. This includes the cost of submitting the case to CMS, purging unrelated treatment, and obtaining the statutory reduction to your client s lien. We require at least 65 days to resolve this type of lien.

3 You Maximize the Recovery We ll Work to Save It Log on to to find additional information about this service, the practice of medical and healthcare lien resolution and how it can work for your firm. One-Step Submission Submitting a file to The Lien Resource at Jarrett & Price, LLC is a one-step process. Your firm will submit a file by filling out a single, secure electronic form accessed through the website. Just provide the relevant information and submit. Continued

4 Releases and Consent I will then provide your firm with the completed consent agreements and releases for your client to sign. Once all signatures are obtained I can begin work on the file. Let the Resource Do the Work Once hired, I will be the contact point for your client s medical and healthcare liens from that point forward. Depending on the type of lien, I will communicate with CMS, plan administrators, medical providers and other relevant claimants to your client s recovery funds. I will request the documents needed to identify the rights of all parties, including treatment records, plan language, Form 5500 documents, summary plan descriptions, lien notifications and other documents relevant to the particular lien. I will then advise your firm on what I believe to be the rights of the plan and your client, and then work to defeat liens or obtain significant reductions to your clients payment obligations. Security The Lien Resource manages each file using a secure online client portal provided by Clio. All documents and communication are stored on the portal, which offers bank-grade security to protect your client s vital medical and healthcare information at all times. Transparency If you wish, you and your client will have a protected password to access your file on the client portal 24-hours-a-day. This will provide access to all documents and communications in the file, and alert you to any new activity. This keeps your client informed about the progress of the file, and allows your firm to retain as much oversight over the lien resolution process as you would like to keep.

5 Close Your File Once the service is able to obtain a number satisfactory to you and your client, your firm can arrange for the client to repay the lien. You will then receive a packet with all relevant documents you need to close your client s file. Only The Lien Resource at Jarrett & Price, LLC delivers a lien resolution resource to other plaintiff firms. The Lien Resource Jarrett & Price, LLC 327 Eisenhower Drive, Suite 200 Savannah, GA Ph: Fax: [email protected]