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The CFPB yesterday announced it has joined with the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) in a joint statement to protect people with Medicare living at or below the poverty line from unlawful medical bills. These people in the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary group represent about one in eight Medicare recipients nationwide. Federal law generally prohibits healthcare providers who accept Medicare from billing these people – referred to as “QMBs” – for cost-sharing, such as co-pays or deductibles.
The agencies' joint statement emphasizes that Traditional Medicare providers and suppliers, Medicare Advantage providers and suppliers, and debt collectors can be sanctioned by CMS or be liable under federal law for improperly billing these recipients. CMS is also releasing new resources clarifying that healthcare providers must refund any improper charges, regardless of whether they received incorrect information about a recipient's QMB status from Medicare Advantage plans.
The joint statement describes the CMS guidance issued yesterday and explains how the laws that the CFPB administers and enforces apply to improper debt collection of QMBs. Specifically, the statement explains: