A Wisconsin appeals court holds that a hospital may not file a lien against a Medicaid recipient. Gister v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co. (Wisc. Ct. App., No. 2009CV1608, Nov. 11, 2010).
After three Medicaid recipients were injured in a car accident, they were treated by St. Joseph's Hospital. The hospital did not bill Medicaid, but instead filed a lien against each of the recipients. The lien attached to any settlement the recipients would receive for their injuries.
The recipients asked the court for a declaration that the liens were invalid. The court upheld the liens and the recipients appealed.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals reverses, holding that a hospital cannot file a lien directly against a Medicaid recipient. According to the court, a hospital can file a lien only for debt collection and because the hospital cannot directly bill Medicaid recipients, the recipients do not owe a debt to the hospital.
For the full text of this decision, go to: https://wicourts.gov/ca/opinion/DisplayDocument.html?content=html&seqNo=56672
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