Taransky v. Secretary of the United States Department of Health & Human Services

OPINION

HARDIMAN, Circuit Judge.

This appeal arises under the Medicare as a Secondary Payer Act (MSP Act), 42 U.S.C. § 1395y(b)(2). Appellant Cecelia A. Taransky, a Medicare beneficiary, contends that she is not required to reimburse the Government 1 for conditional medical expenses that it advanced on her behalf. We disagree.

I

Medicare is a federal entitlement program that provides health insurance benefits to qualified elderly and disabled individuals. See 42 U.S.C. § 1395y(b)(2). When first enacted, Medicare paid its beneficiaries’ medical expenses, even if beneficiaries could recoup them…