Much has been written about Ahlborn and its application in personal injury cases wherein Medicaid has paid benefits. To further assist practitioners in reducing Medicaid liens, the Colorado U.S. District Court released its decision in Perez v. Henneberry, 2011 WL 1743734, on May 5, 2011, involving a dispute concerning the state of Colorado’s Medicaid subrogation claim against a tort settlement of a disabled child. In arguing for a reduction of the Medicaid lien, plaintiff used an attorney expert witness to assist the court in determining the “methodologies for allocating settlement proceeds” as developed under Ahlborn. The state opposed the use of the expert on the basis that the expert would simply be testifying as to “purely legal issues.”
The Colorado Court rejected the state’s argument. The opinion states, “the Court concludes that Von Saucken’s testimony about methodologies for allocating settlement proceeds that would be consistent with federal law is admissible under Rule 702 as it may assist the trier of fact in determining a fact in issue.” Notably, our firm has considerable experience in handling lien issues with Medicaid. Call us if you need some guidance or assistance.
