North Carolina Trial Law Blog

Fine Discussion!

Thanks to Health Plan Law.com for the positive mention of my recent post setting out practical guidelines for using the recent Supreme Court Ruling in Ahlborn to reduce Mediacid liens in personal injury settlements.  Here is what they had to say:

Nonetheless, U.S. Supreme Court has held that these provisions do not support State statutes that claim more than the portion of a Medicaid recipient’s settlement that represents medical expenses. See, Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services v. Ahlborn, 126 S.Ct. 1752 (2006). A fine discussion of the implications of this case appears in the North Carolina Trial Law Blog. Thus far, little guidance has developed from the courts as to the implications of this May 1, 2006 decision, but its taming effect on Medicaid reimbursement demands should be evident in future developments.

Good News, Bad News

I will admit that the only downside is that since www.HealthPlanLaw.com is a web site for Health Plan Administrators, they probably like Ahlborn because it means more money for them to subrogate against (ala, ERISA claim for reimbursement).  (Warning:  self congratulation ahead)  Oh well, at least they know good analysis when they read it .  The good news is that the tone of the Health Law Article suggests that they too think that Medicaid liens can be "Draconian" (their words).  Sounds like we may have some health plan administrators out there with some real heart and understanding of what happens to a severly injured Plaintiff who receives nothing from a settlement because they have to "pay back" Medicaid, ERISA, etc. 

HelathPlanLAw.com makes for interesting reading too.  If you want to see the challenges of regulatory, statutory, and monetary red tape, check out some of the things these folks have to handle.

-Chris Nichols

www.NicholsTrialLaw.com