Medicare Secondary Payer

Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) is the term used by Medicare when Medicare is not responsible for paying first. (The private insurance industry generally talks about "Coordination of Benefits" when assigning responsibility for first and second payment.) The MSP provisions ensure that Medicare does not pay for services and items that certain health insurance or coverage is primarily responsible for paying. The MSP provisions apply to situations when Medicare is not the beneficiary’s primary health insurance coverage.