Medicare Lien Rights

Transcript: In this video we’re going to discuss Medicare and something called a super-lien. Under Medicare, the Medicare payouts are subject to reimbursement from any lawsuit against a third party. To make it simple, if Medicare pays for medical treatment that you have needed because of an auto accident, if you recover money from the driver of the other vehicle Medicare has a right to get back some of the money that it has paid for your bills. So what does that mean and what significance is that? It means that whenever you try to make a recovery of damages against a driver of another vehicle and your bills have been paid by Medicare, that Medicare has to be put on notice and Medicare has a right, no matter what, to get back some of the money that it has paid out for your care and treatment. For example, if you have been injured in an accident and you have medical bills that are $250,000 and you learn that the other driver has only $100,000 in insurance coverage and you think, Well what’s the point of going to an attorney? All that money would just be collected by Medicare. No. There is a point in going to an attorney because there are mechanisms where your attorney can petition on your behalf and negotiate with Medicare so that you can get something out of that policy of $100,000 to cover your pain and suffering and other damages that were intangible and not basically the same as medical bills. So it does make sense to consult an attorney and it does make sense to consider how to make a recovery, and even though you have to pay back Medicare something, you still can make a recovery with money that goes into your pocket in most cases. Again, this video is just general information, not to be taken as legal advice. Consult an attorney of your choice if you have specific questions. Thank you very much.