U.S. Supreme Court rules for Florida, against victim in dispute over Medicaid funding

The Supreme Court issued an opinion affirming the Medicaid Act which permits a state to seek reimbursement from settlement payments allocated for future medical care in Gallardo v. Marstiller.

The opinion, by Justice Thomas, was issued on June 6th, 2022. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion in which Justice Breyer joined.

The dispute stems from a 2008 accident where Gianinna Gallardo was struck by vehicle as she exited a school bus. Florida’s Medicaid program paid $862,688 to the family to cover initial medical expenses. Later, Gallardo’s family filed a lawsuit against the driver of the vehicle that struck her, leaving her in a permanent vegetative state. They reached an $800,000 settlement.

Florida’s Medicaid program claimed it was entitled to recoup $300,000 from that settlement, however, the Gallardo family argued that they should not be able to recover any funds earmarked for future medical expenses.

The U.S. Department of Justice joined the Gallardo family at the Supreme Court, while 14 states and various interest groups backed the Agency for Health Care Administration. 

For more Information:

See Jim Saunders, “U.S. Supreme Court rules for Florida, against victim in dispute over Medicaid funding," Yahoo News, June 6, 2022.

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Florida Probate Attorney) for bringing this article to my attention.