Can medicare or medicaid take wrongful death settlement money?
by Anonymous
(CA)
Hello,
My mother passed away in 2006 and I believe she may have debt with either Medicare or Medicaid. We have been dealing with lawsuit proceedings for nearly 8 years and a settlement was finally reached. The attorney's mentioned that her existing medical bills will have to be deducted from the total amount. So, my question(s) are thus:
- Does Medicare or Medicaid have any grounds for demanding money from the settlement funds? It is my understanding that they do not have a right to any of the settlement funds unless the settlement explicitly included recovery for medical expenses. The information I have researched regarding this scenario is sparse. I hope you can answer this question ASAP. I would like to know before either Medicare or Medicaid takes what they think they are owed and provide me with some useful information.
- How can I determine the amount of the outstanding medial expenses with out bringing awareness to either of these systems?
I appreciate your time and any information you can provide. Thanks!
Anonymous