CMS Pub. 100-05, ch. 2, § 20

Pursuant to 42 CFR § 411.162, Medicare is secondary payer to GHPs for individuals

eligible for, or entitled to Medicare Part A based on ESRD during a coordination period

described below. This provision applies regardless of the number of employees

employed by the employer and regardless of whether the individual or other family

member has current employment status. The ESRD provision applies to former as well

as to current employees. This provision applies where an individual is eligible for

Medicare based on ESRD and where an individual is entitled to Medicare based on

ESRD. An individual who has ESRD but who has not filed an application for entitlement

to Medicare on that basis is eligible for Medicare based on ESRD for purposes of

§20.1.1 or §20.1.3 if the individual meets the other requirements.

In general, §13561(c)(2) and (3) of OBRA 1993 provided that plans must pay primary

benefits during the coordination period regardless of whether the individual is also entitled

to Medicare on another basis. (See

§20.1.3 for dual entitlement provisions. Specifically, see §20.1.3.B, which discusses the

dual entitlement provision under which a GHP remains secondary to Medicare during the

30-month coordination period and litigation challenging that provision.)

This provision applies to all Medicare-covered items and services furnished to

beneficiaries who are in the 30-month period, including services for non-ESRD treatment

and services required by kidney donors in cases of transplantation. This limitation applies

for claims processing for items or services furnished to ESRD beneficiaries who are in

their 30-months of eligibility or entitlement on the basis of ESRD.