How Medicare Affects Personal Injury Compensation

If someone’s negligence caused your injury, Medicare may pay medical bills arising from the accident.

This is true for any type of accident including, but not limited to, car or truck crashes, slip and fall accidents, cruise accidents and more.

Medicare pays the medical bills at a reduced rate, so the Medicare lien will be smaller than the total medical bill charges.

Medicare beneficiaries may get smaller a Settlement

In Florida, a Medicare lien is one components that make up the full value of a case.  Since the Medicare lien is smaller than the full billed charges, it decreases the full value of the damages case is smaller, which then leads to a lower settlement value.

In Florida, if the injured person proves that the defendant’s negligence resulted in medical bills paid by Medicare, he or she can recover damages in the amount of the lien from the defendant.

If Medicare pays a claimant’s medical provider for treatment related to an accident caused by someone else, Medicare can (and will) recover payments from you that they made for the treatment.  42 U.S.C. 1395y(b)(2(B)(ii)/Section 1862(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Act) and 42 C.F.R. 411.24(e) & (g).  Medicare is entitled to be repaid for the amounts that they pay for treatment related to your claim minus attorney’s fees and costs.

Why Medicare beneficiaries benefit by hiring an attorney in a Florida injury case

One of the many advantages of hiring an attorney – who hopefully knows the law – is that Medicare will discount the amount that you have to repay them by your attorney’s fees and costs.

Assessment of Interest and Failure to Respond

Once Medicare issues a demand letter to you, failure to respond within the specified time frame may result in the initiation of additional recovery procedures, including the referral of the debt to the Department of Justice for legal action and/or the Department of the Treasury for further collection actions.

I assume the same or worse applies if you don’t notify Medicare of your claim or settlement.

I have received letters from Medicare where they threaten to deny future medical treatment and reduce or eliminate your social security benefits if you fail to repay them.

Medicare will not pay future accident related bills

Medicare will not pay for future accident related treatment after your case settles.  The liability insurer will report the settlement to Medicare.  They face huge penalties for failing to report a settlement so that have all the reason to report it.

If you settle a personal injury case within 30 months of becoming a Medicare beneficiary, Medicare may deny future medical coverage for accident related bills.

Did someone’s carelessness cause your injury in an accident in Florida, or on a cruise or boat?

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