Estate of Virginia Ramirez, 2006 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4587; 236 N.Y.L.J. 107 (N.Y. Misc. 2006)

This is a motor vehicle case where Plaintiff cited Ahlborn, seeking to avoid reimbursing Medicaid. Decedent was injured in a collision on June 30, 2005 and died intestate on July 4, 2005 at age 85. A proposed settlement of $50,000 constituted the defendant’s insurance limits. All medical expenses associated with the collision were paid by defendant’s no-fault carrier, but Decedent had received $109,269.69 in medical assistance. The administrator argued that Ahlborn precluded Medicaid’s recovery since there was no recovery for medical expenses. However, Medicaid’s claim was not barred by Ahlborn because, after the Decedent’s death, an action against the estate exists to recover for medical assistance paid under 42 U.S.C. § 1396p and N.Y. Social Services Law § 366[4][h][1]. Medicaid did concede that its recovery was limited to the amounts allocated to the personal injury action since the estate does not own the wrongful death action. Decided: December 5, 2006.