Colorado Accident & Injury Law Part III cont. Medicare & Medicaid Liens
D. MEDICARE AND MEDICAID LIENS
1. Medicaid:
Medicaid is a state government program that is needs based. It has long been the Plaintiff attorney’s practice to consider and resolve all Medicaid liens in the resolution of the automobile case.
- Plaintiff’s counsel is required to identify which bills have been paid by Medicaid.
- Prompt notification to Medicaid is highly advised, to determine the amount of accident bills paid by Medicaid and to whom.
- Prompt discussion of the case will expedite a settlement resolution when that issue arises. Delays can be avoided by being timely and prompt.
- Medicaid will routinely discount by about 25 percent to account for attorneys’ fees and that amount may be higher depending upon the case.
- Medicaid can be convinced to resolve a case for more substantial discounts if a cogent and believable argument can be made for why the case is being resolved for less than full compensation to the Plaintiff.
- If the Plaintiff is on Medicaid, or will be eligible for Medicaid but for the settlement being reached, a set-aside trust will be accepted by Medicaid to allow for the payment of non-essential personal needs of the Plaintiff.
- There are experts who perform such service, and in the complicated case it is advised that an expert be retained.
- There is now a simple form of set-aside trust that Colorado Medicaid will accept. The contact person at the State of Colorado Medicaid is Michelle Daniels, 303-866-5410. She handles Trusts questions for Medicaid.
