42 CFR §411.32
Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
- (a)Basic rules.
- (1)Medicare benefits are secondary to benefits payable by a primary payer even if State law or the primary payer states that its benefits are secondary to Medicare benefits or otherwise limits its payments to Medicare beneficiaries.
- (2)Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, Medicare makes secondary payments, within the limits specified in paragraph (c) of this section and in § 411.33, to supplement the primary payment if that payment is less than the charges for the services and, in the case of services paid on other than a reasonable charge basis, less than the gross amount payable by Medicare under § 411.33(e).
- (b)Exception. Medicare does not make a secondary payment if the provider or supplier is either obligated to accept, or voluntarily accepts, as full payment, a primary payment that is less than its charges.
- (c)General limitation: Failure to file a proper claim. When a provider or supplier, or a beneficiary who is not physically or mentally incapacitated, receives a reduced primary payment because of failure to file a proper claim, the Medicare secondary payment may not exceed the amount that would have been payable under § 411.33 if the primary payer had paid on the basis of a proper claim.