John Koskinen
City will sue families of those killed by MRDDA neglect for payment
April 30, 2002

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Statement of City Administrator John Koskinen
Regarding Enforcement of Certain Medicaid Liens

This statement reflects the District’s ongoing efforts to balance our statutory right to assert a lien against the estate of a deceased District resident on whose behalf the District made Medicaid payments for care or treatment during the beneficiary’s lifetime against our commitment to assuring appropriate redress in the courts for all the District’s citizens. This statutory authority extends to conditions where negligence has resulted in death.

As is the case with other providers of care, the law permits the District to assert claims even in cases where it is alleged that its actions contributed to the beneficiary's death or injury. At this time, however, the District will limit the assertion of its statutory right to apply in such cases only where the beneficiary’s estate already has recovered compensation from a third party, such as a primary-care giver, and where the District did not directly deliver care to the beneficiary during his or her lifetime. In such cases, the District may assert its lien against amounts recovered from third parties, whether in formal court judgments or in agreed settlements, but only to the extent necessary to offset claims against the District that otherwise would result in payments which, in the judgment of the District’s lawyers, are unreasonably in excess of the compensation already obtained by the estate. In cases where the beneficiary’s estate is unwilling to share information with the District about the nature or amount of a third-party settlement, the District will assert its lien in the full amount on the basis that the plaintiff presumably has made a full and fair recovery from the third party.