Frequently Asked Questions

SSDC has reporting capability on the web that allows our customers to access information regarding their claims in real time. Information available includes individual case status and demographics as well as aggregate information on all open and/or closed cases. This same web tool also allows customers who sign-up to refer cases to SSDC and to receive automatic email updates when the status of a case changes.

SSDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Assurant, and a division of Assurant Employee Benefits. SSDC operates independently and generally serves a larger group market than its parent. Assurant Employee Benefits is among the largest group insurers in the United States, offering specialty insurance and investment products to businesses associations, financial service organizations and individuals. Product offerings include long-term and short-term disability, life and accidental death and dismemberment coverage and dental insurance. They also offer voluntary (employee-paid) long-term disability, life and dental plans.

Medicare Secondary Payer potential debt occurs when the Medicare program pays for a health care service that is later presumed by the government to be the responsibility of another payer, such as a health plan or an employer. The health plan or employer must nullify the presumption in a timely manner in order to avoid repayments plus interest and penalties. Our Medicare Secondary Payer Debt service takes responsibility for timely processing of inquiries and the resolution of secondary payer debt disputes in accordance with appropriate regulations.

Our Medicare Entitlement and Primacy Management product serves as a key part of the solution to the problems of Medicare Part D compliance/reporting and Medicare Secondary Payer Debts while also providing the best method to identify beneficiaries who are enrolled in Medicare.

Cases can be referred through this website by choosing ‘For Individuals’ which will take the user directly to our advocacy site, by fax, telephone, or customers who sign-up can refer cases directly via our secure connection on the website. Contact us:

Medicare Part A and B primacy identification and Medicare Part D compliance reporting can both use the Voluntary Data Sharing Agreement, but have different values to each employer. The Prescription Data Services (RxDS) portal for exchanging Medicare Part D is important for compliance, but that is the extent of its purpose. The Voluntary Data Sharing Agreement will give Medicare Parts A and B information including dependent information and gives start and stop entitlement dates. You will also be free of future Medicare Secondary Payer Debts.

There are some very large employers who have pursued this direction on their own. Developing the Voluntary Data Sharing Agreement system in-house will require significant IT time and money and at least three to six months of development time. Once the system and the testing process are established, the information that is received from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services often contains errors when records do not match the Medicare enrollment database. SSDC maintains a trained and available staff to perform the reconciliations and to assist individuals with Social Security disability and Medicare claim issues and disputes between Medicare and the employer group benefit administrator. Similar to SSDC, an employer establishing their own system should be prepared to recover overpayments, assist individuals with Medicare Part B enrollment and work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to convert individuals to Medicare primary payer status.

Because We...

• Are proactive, listen to and respond to our customers, are knowledgeable, and invest in training and technology continually to improve the value of our services
• Were the first to identify the need to help employers successfully achieve Social Security Disability Insurance benefits for their long-term disability claimants
• more about Social Security disability and Medicare than anyone in the business
• Are the first to recognize the advantages to employer health plans from obtaining Medicare enrollment information from the government
• Focus on the needs of the customer first
• Have developed the technology that provides efficiency and accuracy in information gathering and warehousing
• Select and train staff that will produce the best results to our customers

SSDC combines knowledge from over 25 years of experience with Social Security disability and Medicare benefits coordination, and technology advancements to assure employers the highest standards of results. We approach benefits coordination with a proactive model in order to simplify administration, reduce cost to us and our customers and maximize future savings.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provides a data exchange program through the Voluntary Data Sharing Agreement that will avoid and eventually eliminate Medicare Secondary Payer Claim Debts.

SSDC's primary retiree product offerings are designed to either identify or create health care coordination opportunities related to Medicare entitlement. Each identification or creation of Medicare entitlement will save the health plan approximately $8,000, according to data provided by the federal government. SSDC's data indicates that the average duration of the $8,000 in savings is five years, or in other words, each identification or creation of Medicare entitlement is worth approximately $40,000 in health plan savings. Most employers have at least 3% of their medically eligible under age 65 population with unknown Medicare primacy. Identified retroactive health plan recoveries average 40% to 60% of overpayments depending on the number of providers, age of claims and other factors. Administrative savings from the elimination of Medicare Secondary Payer Debt issues vary by employer, but can be as high as four to five FTE’s for larger employers.

SSDC is a problem solving organization. Products are built to take advantage of our experience serving large employers and have integration flexibility built in. Consistency in delivery and communication is paramount to achieving excellent results. After gaining a full understanding of customers needs, SSDC has applied its knowledge and advanced technology to design a package of products that will provide the most favorable results for the customer at the lowest possible cost. SSDC's role as a problem solving resource continues beyond the implementation of an initial line of products, we continue to work with the customer to identify innovative solutions to new problems and refine our approach to quality service delivery for existing products.