CMS Pub. 100-05, ch. 2, § 20.1.3

If an individual also becomes entitled to Medicare based on age 65 or disability after

being entitled based on ESRD, the coordination period continues for the remainder of the

30-months if Medicare was properly the secondary payer at the time of the dual

entitlement. See 42 CFR § 411.163.

When an individual is eligible for, or entitled to Medicare Part A based on ESRD and

also entitled on the basis of age or disability, the coordination of benefits is described

below.

Except as provided in subsection B, GHPs are subject to a 30-month coordination period

for any plan enrollee eligible for, or entitled to Medicare Part A based on ESRD,

regardless of whether that individual also is entitled to Medicare on the basis of age or

disability. The 30-month period coincides with the first 30 months of ESRD-based Part

A Medicare eligibility or entitlement. (Under previous law, Medicare automatically

became the primary payer at the point of dual Medicare eligibility/entitlement.) As long

as dual eligibility/entitlement exists, the ESRD MSP provision applies exclusively.

Medicare becomes the primary payer after the 30th month of ESRD-based

eligibility/entitlement even though plan coverage may be in effect by reason of current

employment status.

That is, the working aged MSP provisions and the disability MSP provisions do not

apply to individuals who are entitled on the basis of ESRD during or after the 30-month coordination period.

Subsection A, below, deals with coordination periods governed by present law and

provides examples. Subsection B specifies the circumstances under which the ESRD

MSP provision does not apply in dual entitlement situations and provides an example.

Subsection C deals with circumstances in which Medicare continues to be primary when

an individual is entitled to Medicare based on age or disability and then ESRD with no

GHP coverage, but obtains GHP coverage during the coordination period and provides

an example. Subsection D deals with the effect of the cessation of dual entitlement.

A - Circumstances in Which Medicare Continues to be Secondary After Aged

or Disabled Beneficiary Becomes Eligible for, or Entitled to Medicare on the

Basis of ESRD

Medicare is secondary payer during the first 30 months of ESRD-based eligibility and

entitlement and becomes primary payer after the 30th month of ESRD-based eligibility or

entitlement if Medicare was not properly primary prior to ESRD-based eligibility. (Refer

to subsection B below if Medicare is properly primary.)

EXAMPLE 1

Mr. C, who is 67 years old and entitled to Medicare on the basis of age, has GHP

coverage by virtue of current employment status. Mr. C is diagnosed as having ESRD

and begins a course of maintenance dialysis at an ESRD facility on June 27, 2020.

Effective September 1, 2020, Mr. C is eligible for Medicare on the basis of ESRD.

Medicare, which was secondary because Mr. C's GHP coverage was by virtue of current

employment, continues to be secondary payer through February 2023, the 30th month of

ESRD-based eligibility, and becomes primary payer beginning March 2023.

EXAMPLE 2

Mr. D retired at age 62 and maintained GHP coverage as a retiree. In January 2020 at the

age of 64, Mr. D became entitled to Medicare based on ESRD. Seven months into the

30-month coordination period (July 2020), Mr. D turned age 65. The coordination period

continues without regard to age-based entitlement with the retirement plan continuing to

pay primary benefits through June 2023, the 30th month of ESRD-based entitlement.

Thereafter, Medicare becomes the primary payer beginning July 2023.

EXAMPLE 3

Mr. Edwards retired at age 62 and maintained GHP coverage as a retiree. In July 2020,

he simultaneously became eligible for Medicare based on ESRD (maintenance dialysis

began in April 2020) and entitled based on age. The retirement plan must pay benefits

primary to Medicare from July 2020 through December 2022, the first 30 months of

ESRD-based eligibility. Medicare becomes the primary payer beginning January 2023.

B - Circumstances in Which Medicare Continues to be Primary After Aged or

Disabled Beneficiary Becomes Eligible on Basis of ESRD

Medicare remains the primary payer when an individual becomes eligible for Medicare

based on ESRD if both of the following conditions are met:

• The individual is already entitled to Medicare on the basis of age or disability

when he/she becomes eligible on the basis of ESRD, and

• The MSP prohibition against "taking into account" age-based or disability-based

entitlement does not apply because plan coverage was not "by virtue of current

employment status" or the employer had fewer than 20 employees (in the case of the

aged) or fewer than 100 employees (in the case of the disabled).

The plan may continue to pay benefits secondary to Medicare under this subsection.

However, the plan may not differentiate in the services covered and the payments made

between persons who have ESRD and those who do not.

EXAMPLE 1

Mrs. G, who is 67 years of age, is retired. She has GHP retirement coverage through her

former employer. Her plan permissibly took into account her age-based Medicare

entitlement when she retired and is paying benefits secondary to Medicare. Mrs. G

subsequently develops ESRD and begins a course of maintenance dialysis in October

2020. She automatically becomes eligible for Medicare based on ESRD effective

January 1, 2021. The plan continues to be secondary on the basis of Mrs. G's age-based

entitlement as long as the plan does not differentiate in the services it provides to Mrs. G

and does not do anything else that would constitute "taking into account" her ESRD-based eligibility.

C – Circumstances in Which Medicare Continues to be Primary When Individual

is Entitled to Medicare Based on Age or Disability and then ESRD with no GHP

Coverage but Obtains GHP Coverage During the Coordination Period

If Medicare is the proper primary payer for services when eligibility for Medicare based

on ESRD is established, Medicare remains the primary payer (during the coordination

period and afterwards). Medicare is considered to be the primary payer when Medicare

is the only payer or Medicare is legally obligated to be the primary payer to any GHP

coverage.

EXAMPLE 1

Mr. Z is 67 years old and has Medicare based on age. He has no GHP coverage. Mr. Z

develops ESRD and begins a course in maintenance dialysis and becomes eligible for

Medicare based on ESRD which triggers the 30-month coordination period. However,

Mr. Z has no GHP coverage and Medicare continues as the primary payer. In the 6th

month of the coordination period Mr. Z obtains coverage through his wife’s GHP. Since

Medicare was the proper primary payer when eligibility for ESRD was established,

Medicare remains the primary payer.

D - Dual Eligibility/Entitlement Ceases

If ESRD-based eligibility or entitlement ceases in accordance with the Medicare

Pub. 100-01, Medicare General Information, Eligibility and Entitlement, Chapter 2,

§10.4, Medicare is the primary payer unless plan coverage is in effect by virtue of

current employment status, and the provisions of §§10 and 20 or 30 apply.

More examples illustrating the coordination of benefits in cases of dual entitlement are

found at 42 CFR § 411.163(c).