Whether a Mass Health Lien has to be Deducted from your Car Accident Settlement

Author: Joshua Brabant

When an injury claim, such as a car accident, is settled with an insurance company in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, that company is required by law to run a check with the Department of Revenue (DOR) to see if there are any MassHealth Liens, Child Support Liens or Back Taxes owed to the Commonwealth.

Herein we will focus on whether a MassHealth Lien should be paid out of the settlement. Many times the settlement adjuster will say, when the case is settled, that there is a lien and that the amount of the lien will be deducted from the settlement and a check for said amount will be issued to the commonwealth. But this is not the only means of paying off the MassHealth Lien. For instance, if there is any money remaining under the PIP provision of the claimants policy or even under the optional Medical Payments portion of their policy, you can tell the adjuster to hold off on issuing the settlement check until you have resolved the lien by having it paid under PIP or MedPay.

Thereafter, you must request a breakdown from MassHealth concerning all paid services to determine whether the medical treatment was related to the accident, because MassHealth is only entitled to monies paid out related to the injuries sustained from the accident. If the injuries are not related, MassHealth will waive the lien, if they are, you must take the breakdown, obtain the medical records related to the treatment and submit them to the PIP adjuster for payment which they will promptly pay if there is funding under the 8K PIP provision or the MedPay provision.

MassHealth Liens can cause a hefty dint in one’s settlement if the right procedures are not followed. This is why it is valuable and important to retain a lawyer to help make sure every step is followed correctly to retain the value of your injury claim.

If you need help with a car accident or have a Mass Health question please call the car accident attorneys at Brabant & Huynh LLP at 617-934-0913. Our Car Accident Lawyers are located in Quincy and Dorchester and we will be glad to offer you a free evaluation and ease the burden of going through the process.