(a) Section 11 of the Reform Act directs the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare to notify each miner receiving benefits under part B of title IV of the Act that he or she may file a claim for medical treatment benefits described in this subpart. Section 725.308(b) provides that a claim for medical treatment benefits shall be filed on or before December 31, 1980, unless the period is enlarged for good cause shown. This section sets forth the rules governing the processing, adjudication, and payment of claims filed under section 11.
(b)(1) A claim filed pursuant to the notice described in paragraph (a) of this section shall be considered a claim for medical benefits only, and shall be filed, processed, and adjudicated in accordance with the provisions of this part, except as provided in this section. While a claim for medical benefits must be treated as any other claim filed under part C of title IV of the Act, the Department shall accept the Social Security Administration's finding of entitlement as its initial determination.
(1) A claim filed pursuant to the notice described in paragraph (a) of this section shall be considered a claim for medical benefits only, and shall be filed, processed, and adjudicated in accordance with the provisions of this part, except as provided in this section. While a claim for medical benefits must be treated as any other claim filed under part C of title IV of the Act, the Department shall accept the Social Security Administration's finding of entitlement as its initial determination.
(2) In the case of a part B beneficiary whose coal mine employment terminated before January 1, 1970, the Secretary shall make an immediate award of medical benefits. Where the part B beneficiary's coal mine employment terminated on or after January 1, 1970, the Secretary shall immediately authorize the payment of medical benefits and thereafter inform the responsible operator, if any, of the operator's right to contest the claimant's entitlement for medical benefits.
(c) A miner on whose behalf a claim is filed under this section (see Sec. 725.301) must have been alive on March 1, 1978, in order for the claim to be considered.
(d) The criteria contained in subpart C of part 727 of this subchapter (see Sec. 725.4(d)) are applicable to claims for medical benefits filed under this section.
(e) No determination made with respect to a claim filed under this section shall affect any determination previously made by the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration may, however, reopen a previously approved claim if the conditions set forth in Sec. 410.672(c) of this chapter are present. These conditions are generally limited to fraud or concealment.
(f) If medical benefits are awarded under this section, such benefits shall be payable by a responsible coal mine operator (see subpart G of this part), if the miner's last employment occurred on or after January 1, 1970, and in all other cases by the fund. An operator which may be required to provide medical treatment benefits to a miner under this section shall have the right to participate in the adjudication of the claim as is otherwise provided in this part.
(g) Any miner whose coal mine employment terminated after January 1, 1970, may be required to submit to a medical examination requested by an identified operator. The unreasonable refusal to submit to such an examination shall have the same consequences as are provided under Sec. 725.414.
(h) If a miner is determined eligible for medical benefits in accordance with this section, such benefits shall be provided from the date of filing, except that such benefits may also include payments for any unreimbursed medical treatment costs incurred personally by such miner during the period from January 1, 1974, to the date of filing which are attributable to medical care required as a result of the miner's total disability due to pneumoconiosis. No reimbursement for health insurance premiums, taxes attributable to any public health insurance coverage, or other deduction or payments made for the purpose of securing third party liability for medical care costs is authorized by this section. If a miner seeks reimbursement for medical care costs personally incurred before the filing of a claim under this section, the district director shall require documented proof of the nature of the medical service provided, the identity of the medical provider, the cost of the service, and the fact that the cost was paid by the miner, before reimbursement for such cost may be awarded.