LCDs

Who are the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) medical directors for Palmetto GBA?

Miguel A. Brito, Jr., M.D., FCAP, FASCP, serves as a Contractor Medical Director for Palmetto GBA. Dr. Brito is Medical Director of the National Railroad Retirement Board and is part of the physician team for Medicare jurisdictions JJ and JM. Due to his expertise in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine he is also part of the MolDx program. He is a graduate of the University of Miami and received his M.D. degree from the University of Florida. He completed his residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the Medical College of Virginia. After residency he was in the active private practice of Pathology for 33 years in several roles before becoming partner and owner of his own group for 15 years.

Dr. Brito has been involved in numerous hospital leadership roles from Chief of Pathology and Laboratory, Chief of Surgery, and President of the Medical Staff. He was a member and chairman of multiple hospital committees including Credentials, Infection control, Blood utilization and Medical Staff Executive Committee. He is a member and former Vice President and Executive committee member of the Florida Society of Pathologists, member and former state issues representative and current House of Delegates representative of the College of American Pathologists, member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and a Clinical Affiliate Assistant Professor of the Florida Atlantic University College of Medicine. He is a graduate of the Physician Leadership Academy of South Florida. He is certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners and is Board certified by the American Board of Pathology in the specialties of Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. He is a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists and Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.

Scott J. Trimas, M.D., FACS, serves as a Contractor Medical Director for Palmetto GBA. Dr. Trimas graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Chemistry. After attending medical school at the University of Florida College of Medicine, he completed a residency in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology in Gainesville, Fla. Dr. Trimas then completed a fellowship in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Toronto.

He has spent the last 30 years in private practice performing predominantly facial plastic & reconstructive procedures with a mix of nasal and sinus surgery and skin cancer surgery and reconstruction. Dr. Trimas serves on the written exam review committee for the American Board of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery for the last 17 years. He is also a surveyor for American Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), part-time for the last 23 years, and is a senior surveyor and faculty member. His skills in this area include quality improvement, ambulatory surgery centers, and CMS guidelines.

Caitlin Hutchison, M.D., serves as a Contractor Medical Director for Palmetto GBA. She graduated from the University of California San Diego with a BS in Biology. She then attended Ross University School of Medicine to earn her M.D. and completed a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Palmetto GBA she practiced in a variety of acute and subacute rehabilitation settings as well as working in utilization review. Dr. Hutchison is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 

Jennifer Abrams, DO, FACOEP, serves as a Contractor Medical Director for Palmetto GBA. She is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician, graduated with a B.A. from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Dr. Abrams attended NYCOM, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed an Emergency Medicine Internship and Residency program with St. Barnabas Hospital, located in the Bronx. 

Dr. Abrams began practicing Emergency Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in New York, and then relocated to Columbia, S.C., where she was a partner with Carolina Care, staffing Emergency Departments in the Columbia area. Her focus was at the Baptist campus where she was on multiple committees and served as Vice Chief of the Emergency Department. After transitioning to Urgent Care, Dr. Abrams became the Medical Director at MUSC Urgent Care Elgin. 

Michael Hopkins, M.D., FAAEM, serves as a Contractor Medical Director for Palmetto GBA. Dr. Hopkins graduated from the Pennsylvania State University before attending Jefferson Medical College to earn his medical degree. He completed his emergency medicine training at the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University Emergency Medicine Residency. He has more than 20 years of emergency medicine experience in multiple areas of the country including Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Charleston, S.C. He has certifications in Advanced Trauma Life Support, Advance Pediatric Life Support, Emergency Bedside Ultrasound, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. He is board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and is currently teaching faculty at the Trident Emergency Medicine Residency Program.

Adama Frye, M.D., serves as a Contractor Medical Director for Palmetto GBA. She graduated from Harvard University and received her M.D. degree from Morehouse School of Medicine. She completed Internal Medicine Internship and Adult Neurology Residency at Mayo Clinic Rochester and Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. Prior to joining Palmetto GBA she practiced in a variety of settings as well as working in utilization review. She is board certified in Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology.

Dr. Elite Ben-Ozer, M.D., DABPMR, ABPMR Pain Medicine, serves as a Contractor Medical Director for Palmetto GBA with expertise in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Pain Management. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Wayne State University and her medical degree from the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine. She completed her PM&R residency at the University of Michigan, where she served as Chief Resident, and subsequently completed a Pain Management fellowship at UCLA/VA.

She is board certified in both PM&R and Pain Management and has extensive experience in inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, clinical research, and resident education, with prior roles at Kaiser Permanente and over a decade at the VA Medical Center. Dr. Ben-Ozer has been recognized for her clinical expertise, leadership, mentorship, and commitment to advancing rehabilitation medicine.

Last Reviewed: 09/15/2025