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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds That Medicare is Entitled To Restitution Payments Made To Medical ProviderAttached is the link to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision from October 21, 2009 in Commonwealth v. Brown (Justice Todd). This is a criminal case which centered on Medicare's ability to obtain restitution payments made to a medical provider on an assault victim's behalf under the Crimes Code. The Court holds that Medicare is entitled to restitution under the Pennsylvania Crimes Code for payments made to a medical provider after a person was assaulted and the defendant pled guilty to the simple assault and causing the injuries sustained to the victim.
The Court notes that under Section 1006 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code "any other government agency" can seek restitution if it has provided reimbursement to the victim as a result of the defendant's criminal conduct. Applying statutory construction and legislative intent the Court concludes that Medicare is such a "government agency" entitled to reimbursement.
From a practical standpoint this probably means that in any third party/auto (UM/UIM) claims dealing with a criminally responsible third party the victim can now ask that any monies which may need to be reimbursed to Medicare also be included in any claims for restitution.
http://www.pacourts.us/OpPosting/Supreme/out/J-49-2009mo.pdfScott B. Cooper
scooper@schmidtkramer.com
717-232-6300
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