Resolve a Medicare Lien in a Personal Injury Settlement
Personal injury lawsuits can often take days before reaching the final conclusion. With detailed examination of the information provided while scrutinizing each aspect of the injury, the judge tends to take time. Owing to the impact on health, the plaintiff is left with no choice but to start with his medical examination before reaching a settlement. This is where Medicare steps in!
Covering your medical expenses on a conditional basis, Medicare supports you with some financial allowance till the time your personal injury case concludes. This payment, made on specific undertakings, is referred to as Medicare lien and indicates the responsibility of the plaintiff to return the amount.
Started with an aim to financially aid senior citizens and disabled individuals,Medicare covers close to 18.4% of the American population. When it comes to medical policies, you must comply with the letter orders stated by Medicare. Failing to keep up with them can result in legal enforcement and lawsuits.
Medicare claims are often attached as liens along with the settlement or final judgments as compensation for the severe accident that caused you injuries. Medicare has all the rights to ask for the expenses it covered while the case was in proceedings, and you are obligated to reimburse them.
How does a Medicare lien affect your Injury Settlement?
Personal Injury Settlements are made based on the needs identified by the judge. The rightful compensation is granted for the loss of wages caused along with all the expenses the plaintiff had to bear since the incident.
More often than not, the Medicare lien is conditioned based on the settlement amount itself. All the bills covered by Medicare and treatments it has paid for are officially claimed as a part of your settlement amount.
Another essential aspect associated with the Medicare claim is its priority. Once your settlement amount is released, you must not disperse it without first clearing your Medicare lien. All other involved parties and lawyers comply with this and make sure that your lien is completely paid off from the settlement amount.
How long does it take to resolve a Medicare lien?
Medicare lien cases usually take close to 5-6 months for the entire process to end.
Starting from the establishment of your case with Medicare’s recovery department to the listing prepared for all the injuries you are covered for— the official procedure can continue for months even after your settlement.
If your Medicare case is initiated early on in the litigation – before the settlement process – your Medicare resolution can be made within a tenure of 45 days.
This delay caused in the Medicare lien can be because of a number of factors which include:
Billing by medical service providers
One of the primary steps in claiming the Medicare amount is for the private medical service providers to bill Medicare aptly. They must raise invoices for all the services presented to you.
Both Part A and Part B medical service providers tend to bill Medicare once they have treated you timely. At times, these billings to Medicare are done annually- contributing to an extended delay for the resolution of the lien.
Reviewing the expenses paid
Once these bills are raised to Medicare, another dedicated firm is allocated to review all the payments Medicare is claiming from you.
The reviewers do an in-depth mapping of the reimbursements asked from you and whether these are associated with the same injuries you are settled for. Reviewing can be a time-consuming task and adds to the delay in resolving the Medicare lien.
Settlement amount
If all your official legal processes are completed before the settlement, the Medicare lien is likely to only depend on the amount disbursal. Early expense repayment helps to close to the lien soon while delay in the settlement amount moves the conclusion farther.
All the medical expenses accrued between the date of injury and the settlement date are covered by Medicare insurance.
Zero letter
Reaching the end of your legal voyage, a zero letter is issued by Medicare as a dutiful acknowledgment for clearing all payments. This officially marks the end of the lien and sets you free from any legal obligation pertaining to this case.
Personal Injury Lawsuit
Given the severity of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, Medicare liens just add to the complicated affairs. Seemingly trivial matters can turn out to be crucial showstoppers if not handled in the proper manner.
There are various people undergoing liens by Medicare, and you happen to be one of them. Our dedicated Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers at the law offices of Wolf and Pravato make sure that you take the correct steps and conclude your Medicare lien with ease.
Reach out to us or call at (833) 704-4878 for a free attorney consultation to get you started with your legal settlements. Contact us today!
