Jason D. Lazarus, J.D., LL.M., CSSC, MSCC
June 9, 2022
On June 6th, 2022, the United States Supreme Court decided in a 7-2 decision to allow Florida Medicaid, pursuant to Section 409.910 of the Florida Statutes, to recover its lien from all medical damages past and future. This decision has nothing to do with future eligibility for Medicaid post settlement, that is still protected by special needs trusts, instead, it allows a state Medicaid agency to pursue its lien against all medical damages in the case. This is a departure from the dictates of Ahlborn which protected a Medicaid recipients’ property right in their settlement as dictated by the federal anti-lien provisions.
Gallardo argued that the anti-lien provisions in the Medicaid Act prohibited Florida Medicaid from attempting to recover its lien from anything other than the amounts properly allocable to past medical expenses. The Supreme Court held otherwise finding that it falls within an exception to the anti-lien provisions that served as the pillars of the Ahlborn decision. Further, the court held that the assignment provisions in the Medicaid Act requires a Medicaid beneficiary, as a condition of eligibility, to assign all rights to payments for medical care from a third party back to the state Medicaid agency. And states must enact recovery provisions that allow for the state to recover from liability third parties when a Medicaid beneficiary is injured, and Medicaid pays for that care. While the court upheld the property right and anti-lien prohibitions against recovery from non-medical damages, it held it didn’t protect damages that were for medical care.
The bottom line of the holding is as follows:
“Under §1396k(a)(1)(A), Florida may seek reimbursement from settlement amounts representing “payment for medical care,” past or future. Thus, because Florida’s assignment statute “is expressly authorized by the terms of . . . [§]1396k(a),” it falls squarely within the “exception to the anti-lien provision” that this Court has recognized. Ahlborn, 547 U. S., at 284.”
Justice Sotomayor’s dissent in Gallardo is right on point about the inequity of the majority’s opinion related to Medicaid liens and from what elements of damages a state agency can recover from: “It holds that States may reimburse themselves for medical care furnished on behalf of a beneficiary not only from the portions of the beneficiary’s settlement representing compensation for Medicaid-furnished care, but also from settlement funds that compensate the Medicaid beneficiary for future medical care for which Medicaid has not paid and might never pay. The Court does so by reading one statutory provision in isolation while giving short shrift to the statutory context, the relationships between the provisions at issue, and the framework set forth in precedent. The Court’s holding is inconsistent with the structure of the Medicaid program and will cause needless unfairness and disruption.” Justice Sotomayor also recognized that due to the majority’s ruling, many injury victims would have less dollars from their settlement to place into federally-authorized special needs trusts that protect their ability to pay for important expenses Medicaid will not cover. This is exactly what had been done for the benefit of Gallardo when her case was settled but now she will have less go into that trust since more money will have to go to reimburse Florida Medicaid.
So, what does Gallardo mean for injury victims? A state Medicaid agency or its recovery contractor can now take the position that the recovery right applies to past and future medicals so when you do an Ahlborn analysis, it would be the appropriate reduction percentage (using a pro-rata formula) applied to the entire value of medical damages to see if there is a reduction in the lien. Pre-Gallardo, some states were already taking that position as well as some recovery contractors. From a practical perspective, in cases with a large life care plan or a lot of future medicals, there may not be a reduction at all in the lien. It is going to be important that the non-economic damages get properly valued with some multiplier times specials to make strong arguments for a reduction.
In the end, Medicaid beneficiaries will not net out as much from their settlements as they should. Some cases may not be brought, and more injury victims will wind up quickly back on Medicaid post recovery. It is an unfortunate end result and just bad law.
To read the full opinion, click HERE
This decision doesn’t mean though all is lost, but you need experts to help you navigate through the lien resolution minefield. Contact Synergy to help find your way to the best outcome for your client.
To read a whitepaper for a summary of the law pre-Gallardo, click HERE.
