The client is deceased and the family cannot help determine liens. What do I do?
A: This is always a difficult scenario.
As far as Medicare and Medicaid are concerned, you can reach out to those entities and get confirmation of any past enrollment in the respective systems.
However, with private or Medicare Advantage plans, things get complicated quickly.
The best thing you can hope for is to get copies of the decedent’s insurance cards from the date of the accident until the date of death. If you have those, you can determine the carriers, and reach out to determine the type of coverage and what recovery contractors to reach out to in order to report the claim. Recall that Medicare Advantage Plan recipients may change coverage on an annual basis during open enrollment periods, and the claim should be reported to all carriers who covered the plaintiff while treating.
Without copies of insurance cards, the medical records may provide evidence of what coverage was billed for admissions and treatments. Getting the proper medical and billing records for all treating facilities and physicians is essential.
Since 2011, Precision Resolution has successfully reduced attorney exposure to compliance and lien issues while putting over $190 million back into the pockets of the plaintiff through successfully challenging and eliminating purported lien claims. With dedicated conditional payment, lien resolution, allocation, analysis, contract review, and research teams, all consisting of highly specialized attorneys, Precision can offer you and your client all available strategic alternatives to reach an agreeable and timely result. Reach out to us for a free consultation to see what we can do for you.
