Roundup Update: September 22, 2023
Second Payment Status:
ARX reports that all checks (except multiple estate payment checks) have now been mailed, and that DocuSign’s will finish going out by email today, SEPT 22. Multiple estate checks will go out on Monday, SEPT 25.
Please check your spam folder or junk email folder before calling us about the status of a DocuSign email.
If you have not received your second payment or notice that there will not be a second payment by OCT 6, we suggest that you contact us.
Thank you for your patience.
Roundup Update: September 1, 2023
Determination of Second Payment amounts:
The Miller Firm produced a set of over 1,400 second payment requests to ARX on August 28, 2023. ARX is currently working on a method for processing all second payments as quickly as possible. If you do not receive your second payment or letter indicating that you will not receive a second payment by September 22, 2023 then please contact us.
Roundup Update: July 27, 2023
Determination of Second Payment amounts:
Federal law requires that all Medicare, Medicaid, and Military payments made to any medical provider on your behalf that relate to your use of Roundup, subsequent injury, and relevant treatment and care be identified, negotiated and reimbursed to your health plan. Further, if you are or were a private health insurance policyholder, your enrollment materials likely contained language stating that by receiving insurance, you agree that any benefits you receive for which another party is liable are subject to reimbursement. The legal right for both government and private insurance plans to seek reimbursement in injury cases like Roundup is called subrogation. Even if you do not have any outstanding medical bills, the obligation to report to these agencies and plans still exists.
The Lien Administrator required us to hold back a portion of most clients’ initial settlement award to pay any liens that are legally owed to Medicare, Medicaid, or other entities with valid liens. The amount of the holdback represents the most that you will have to pay to lienholders, even if the actual lien is much larger. This limit was negotiated for your benefit, and without it many clients would receive no payment at all under applicable federal law. Failure to pay a valid lien may result in a termination of your benefits or legal action against you, so it is very important that these liens are paid and resolved.
We recently received final lien numbers for almost all claimants in the settlement. This means that we can now determine whether a second payment is due to you. If the amount of your final lien is less than the amount that was held back, we anticipate that you will be receiving payment for the difference by SEPTEMBER 1. Please note that you will not receive a second payment if the amount of the lien is equal to your holdback amount. The letter that you will receive will explain what options are available to you if you disagree with the final lien amount.
If you will be receiving a second payment, the Fund Administrator (ARX) has been instructed to send payment in the same manner as your previous payment(s) to avoid any unnecessary payment delays. Please be advised that claims that have ongoing estate administration or bankruptcy administration may result in further delays.
EIF Awards:
Letters have been sent to those clients that qualified for EIF (Extraordinary Injury Fund) awards. We expect to make initial payments on these awards by AUGUST 18, unless you have an unresolved lien or litigation loan that must be resolved before your initial EIF payment can be made. Please note that the amount of the award will be reduced by attorneys’ fees. The Lien Administrator is also requiring us to hold 40% of the gross amount as a holdback, in certain cases, until a lien determination can be made on the EIF award. If any EIF funds remain after all EIF liens are accounted for, we will issue a second payment once we have final EIF lien payment information and the Lien Administrator (Archer) has cleared your EIF claim for a second payment. We do not yet have an estimate of when we will be able to make any second EIF payments (if any) that are due.
The Fund Administrator (ARX) has been instructed to send your EIF payment(s) in the same manner as your previous payment(s) to avoid any unnecessary payment delays. Please be advised that claims that have ongoing estate administration or bankruptcy administration may result in further delays.
Thank you for your patience as we process these payments.
Medicare Update – June 7, 2023
On 6/7/23 Archer group confirmed that the DOJ approved the Miller Firm’s Global Medicare Lien resolution. Archer anticipates that it will take 3-4 weeks to finalize clients’ individual Medicare allocations. After that time, the Miller Firm will start reviewing and approving issuance of second payments for any remaining balance from the Medicare holdback.
We greatly apologize for the unexpected delay and are working hard to make sure that everything moves as quickly as possible in the issuance of remaining funding from lien holdbacks.
EIF Update and EIF Lien Resolution:
At this point, we have submitted all approved and appealed EIF claims to the Special Master for a final review and dollar allocation. The Special Master’s determinations will be final. We anticipate that the Special Master will complete his reviews expeditiously and we hope to have final allocations from the Special Master in short order. Once the Special Master has finalized all EIF allocations, the following will occur:
- Our firm will produce the Special Master’s EIF allocation data to Archer for EIF lien resolution;
- Archer will review the Special Master’s EIF allocation data and will let us know what percentage of EIF funds will need to be held back for further lien resolution;
- Our firm will then begin making initial EIF payments and will hold back Archer’s recommended portion of EIF funds while EIF lien resolution runs its course. Final EIF payments will be made once EIF lien resolution is complete.
Please note that the timing of EIF lien resolution will depend on your specific claim as set forth below:
- Claimants who accepted a compromise from Medicare (Majority of Claimants): Archer will report your additional EIF award to Medicare for further review and approval by the DOJ. If your EIF award will need to be reported to Medicare and approved by the DOJ, your EIF lien resolution process may take a number of months.
- Claimants who have already completed lien resolution and were not Medicare eligible as of July, 2022: Archer is currently conferring with Medicare and will let us know if we can pay out these EIF awards immediately.
- Claimants who have already received Final Demand Letter from BCRC (even if the Final Demand was for $0.00): Archer will report your additional EIF award to Medicare for further review and approval by the DOJ.
- Private Insurance claims will be dependent on the type of award and if compromise was reached to resolve your original private lien.
ROUNDUP UPDATE – April 6, 2023
EIF Update: The Settlement Administrator has now informed us that it has completed its review of all submitted EIF claims. Our firm can now move forward with the next step in the EIF process: we will be submitting all approved and appealed EIF claims to the Special Master so that he can assign a dollar allocation award to each approved EIF claimant. Although the Special Master has not provided us with a specific ETA for his review process, we are doing everything we can to move all EIF claims through this next phase as quickly as possible. Please note that if you have an outstanding Medicare or other lien at the completion of the EIF review process, your EIF payment will be delayed while all liens are resolved.
ROUNDUP UPDATE – April 4, 2023
Medicare Update. On Friday March 31, 2023 we were informed that the Department of Justice is still in the process of making a decision on when and how to finalize the determination of outstanding potential Medicare payments from the settlement. We will let you know when we have more information.
ROUNDUP UPDATE – Feb. 22, 2023
CMS, after abruptly rescinding the compromise component of the RU Global Model, engaged the DOJ to provide guidance as to whether the 30% cap could be reinstated. In our memo of January 27, 2023, ARCHER informed you of the many efforts we have been undertaking in an attempt to hasten the DOJ’s decision, including our retention of outside counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
This week we learned from Akin Gump that the DOJ’s review is with its Commercial Litigation Branch and that their recommendation has been completed and is now under further internal DOJ review. While no specifics on their recommendation or a timetable has been revealed, we remain cautiously optimistic that the DOJ’s decision will be forthcoming over the next several weeks, as opposed to many more months.
Yesterday, ARCHER, in coordination with Akin Gump, tendered a letter to CMS and DOJ again seeking urgent assistance in resolving the impasse over the global model compromise. That letter is enclosed here and may be shared with settling claimants at your discretion.
The attached ARCHER Roundup Claimant Communication provides a synthesized update on the current status of the global model and may also be shared with claimants at your discretion, with or without ARCHER’s letter to CMS and DOJ.
Thank you,
Allyson Karnavas
Vice President of Client Services
ROUNDUP UPDATE – November 28, 2022
EIF UPDATE: We are hoping to be able to make EIF payments for those clients that qualify in the first quarter of 2023. These claims are still being reviewed by an outside company and then will be further reviewed by the Special Master.
Thank you for your patience.
ROUNDUP UPDATE – November 22, 2022
Medicare recently informed Archer that they are still discussing internally with Medicare whether they will be proceeding under their original agreement using the Global Model to resolve Medicare liens or if they will be reneging on their agreement. Medicare has refused to provide a timeline for their decision despite repeated demands that they provide an expected timeframe. Based on our discussions with Archer, we don’t expect Medicare to make their decision until the first quarter of 2023. Medicare still refuses to provide any explanation.
We will continue to do everything we can to obtain a resolution from Medicare as quickly as possible.
We know that these developments and the standstill on your settlement money is frustrating. We share your frustrations and will continue to fight for you on every front. We will also continue to update you with substantive developments as they become known to our firm. We know you want your settlement money now, but the law prevents us from dispersing any further funds to Medicare-eligible claimants who have a potential Medicare lien without resolution of these issues.
You will be receiving a letter that addresses the situation in more detail soon.
ROUNDUP UPDATE – November 1, 2022
ARCHER and other interested organizations and firms are still actively pursuing a final determination of the Medicare liens with Medicare. This is what is holding up the determination of second payments, where applicable. We will post an update here as soon as we have further updates to report. Thank you for your patience as we resolve this important issue.
ROUNDUP UPDATE – September 29, 2022
CMS (Medicare) notified ARCHER and other Lien Resolution Administrators on September 21st that it is now declining reimbursement of any Medicare liens through the previously established global resolution model for anything less than the full lien amount due, which for many claimants is equal to the entirety of their net settlement award (previously, Medicare allowed “compromises” to lien amounts and capped their reimbursement at no more than 30% of a claimant’s gross settlement). The result of Medicare’s decision, two years after ARCHER began its work with the Roundup Medicare Model, requires ARCHER to pause global model Medicare lien resolution across all pending Roundup cases. ARCHER and other Lien Resolution Administrators are working together to challenge Medicare’s decision and further information will be provided as it becomes available.
As a result of Medicare’s actions, we expect further delays in processing any second payments that may be due.
ROUNDUP UPDATE – JULY 1, 2022
We are continuing to work hard to conclude your Roundup case. Below are answers to FAQS:
When will I receive my second payment?
The Lien Administrator (Archer) is in the process of determining how much (if any) of the money held back from your first payment is required under Federal Law to be paid back to Medicare/Medicaid. If you signed up for the Private Lien Resolution Program, Archer is also working on determining how much will need to be paid to your private insurer. This process has taken longer than initially anticipated and Archer is still waiting on Medicare/Medicaid to provide final confirmation on payment amounts. Archer has told us that it will have this process complete in September. If this occurs on time then we will be able to make you second payment (if applicable) in October. For more details on the lien resolution process, see the ARCHER FAQ below.
We cannot release lien holdback money until Archer finalizes your lien. This is true even if you disagree that a lien was properly asserted.
The Settlement Administrator has set the final point value at $395.00 which is the exact estimate that your initial payment was based on. Any second payment will, therefore, consist of the difference between your lien holdback and the final lien amount. Please note that not every claimant will receive a second payment.
If your second check in less than $35,000, it will be mailed to you. If it is $35,000 or more you will receive an email with instructions on how to receive your payment.
When will I know if I qualify and if so how much I will receive for my Extraordinary Injury Fund (EIF) Application?
The Settlement Administrator and Special Master are currently reviewing EIF Applications and making eligibility determinations. We expect, but cannot guarantee, that notifications and payments for those who qualified by the end of the year.
When will I receive my first check for the claim I have made on behalf of a deceased Roundup User?
If you have not yet received your first check and are not actively working with an attorney on this, please contact your assigned attorney at The Miller Firm.
I have a Bankruptcy Hold on my payment. What do I do now?
Our attorneys are actively working with your Bankruptcy Trustee to resolve this issue. If you were diagnosed with NHL before you filed Bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Trustee may be entitled to part or all of your settlement under applicable Bankruptcy law. We will let you know when/if you are entitled to a payment and if so how much.
LIEN ADMINISTRATOR (ARCHER) FAQ
I didn’t hire ARCHER. Why are they involved?
In order to comply with the terms of the settlement agreement and with federal law, which require assurance that government liens are properly satisfied, the Master Settlement Agreement appointed ARCHER to serve as the Lien Administrator. ARHER was selected for its expertise and experience in handling specialized administrative functions, including health insurance lien resolution which is required in large mass tort settlement programs such as Roundup. ARCHER also has negotiated special programs with government lienholders and private group health plan collectors. These programs offer advantages such as caps on lien recoveries and automatic, built-in lien reductions that are not offered to individual claimants or law firms on their own.
Why has this taken so long?
Mass tort lien resolution is very complex. There are many different government agencies and hundreds of health plans that are all looking to assert their lien rights or subrogation claims against Roundup settlement proceeds. Compounding the complexity is the fact that Medicare, Medicaid agencies, private insurers/their recovery agents, and other government agencies such as the VA are facing an unprecedented volume of mass tort claims and continue to deal with staffing issues and resource shortages, which is lengthening the time it takes to resolve liens.
ARCHER’s job is difficult, as Congress has placed Medicare, Medicaid, other government agencies, and certain health plans in a favored position to recover money when beneficiaries reach a third-party injury settlement. ARCHER has negotiated what it felt to be the best possible agreements with the government and the vast majority of health plans, agreements that have been approved by the leadership law firms in the Roundup litigation nationwide.
Why did I have to go through the lien resolution process?
Federal law requires that all Medicare, Medicaid, and Military payments made to any medical provider on your behalf that relate to your use of Roundup, subsequent injury, and relevant treatment and care be identified, negotiated and reimbursed to your health plan. Further, if you are or were private health insurance policyholder, your enrollment materials likely contained language stating that by receiving insurance, you agree that any benefits you receive for which another party is liable are subject to reimbursement. The legal right for both government and private insurance plans to seek reimbursement in injury cases like Roundup is called subrogation. Even if you do not have any outstanding medical bills, the obligation to report to these agencies and plans still exists.
Is there a cap on Medicare’s recovery?
Medicare will not be entitled to recover more than 30% of your gross settlement award, regardless of award size.
Will Medicare deny my future NHL-related treatment as a result of receiving this settlement?
Those Medicare lien obligations will be resolved and reconciled by Medicare under a Global Resolution Model which covers treatment diagnosis care as well as follow up care.
All Roundup Claimants paying Medicare under the Global Model will be approved by Medicare. As such, ARCHER will ensure that Claimants fulfill their Medicare obligations under the settlement so that future Medicare benefits are not impacted for any reasons pertaining to the Roundup settlement. Proof of Claimant satisfaction under the Global Resolution Model will be provided at the end of the settlement and upon payment to Medicare.
I’ve called Medicare or my health plan and they have said I owe nothing or a different amount. Who is correct?
There is a special unit within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) that manages the mass tort collection program. This unit does not share information with care advocates, front-line customer service personnel, or even the Benefits Coordination and Recovery Center (“BCRC”), which handles liens on other types of personal injury cases for the federal government. Therefore, you may end up contacting the government and getting what seems like a definitive answer that conflicts with what ARCHER or your firm is telling you, but rest assured that the information ARCHER or your firm is providing is up-to-date and more accurate.
When will Medicare be paid and will proof of payment exist?
Funds have been escrowed within the Qualified Settlement Fund (“QSF”) for the specific purpose of paying the total amount due to Medicare. ARCHER will provide proof of payment to your law firm. Once payment has been made, Medicare considers your reimbursement obligation complete and will provide confirmation of such.