What to Do If a Medical Lien is Asserted Against Your Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Case
Health Insurance carriers have traditionally been able to assert a medical lien (subrogation interest) in a personal injury case for accident-related treatment the health insurance carrier paid for. The health insurance carrier will only have a lien against a plaintiff’s settlement or judgment but if there is no recovery, the plaintiff is not required to repay the health insurance carrier.
In an effort to reduce car insurance costs, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted an anti-subrogation statute that precludes many health insurance carriers from asserting a lien against personal injury claims arising from a car accident.
Unfortunately, numerous exceptions have been carved out to this anti-subrogation statute and accordingly, health insurance carriers can still assert a medical lien against motor vehicle settlements or judgments. For instance, government assistance programs, including Medicare and Medicaid may still assert a medical lien against motor vehicle personal injury recoveries in Pennsylvania. Additionally, health insurance plans that are either HMO or ERISA plans can still assert a medical lien against motor vehicle personal injury recoveries in Pennsylvania based upon the fact that these policies are governed by Federal law which preempts the Pennsylvania anti-subrogation statute.
If a medical lien is asserted against your motor vehicle personal injury case, there are two steps that should be taken immediately. First, you should request an entire copy of the health insurance policy to ensure that the policy is entitled to subrogation. Secondly, it is important to review an itemization of the lien to ensure that all charges on the lien are for accident-related treatment and to dispute any charges for treatment not related to the accident.