Interesting story out of Minnesota. Tom Cary lost his wife to medical malpractice. His health insurance paid for her treatment. He filed a lawsuit against the negligent doctor. The health insurer, instead of pooling its resources with Tom to fight and recover the money, put a lien on his deceased wife’s estate to recover the money it paid out. Yes, the premium that Tom paid for years didn’t matter. The health insurer wanted to get paid.
And get paid they did. $60,000 out of an undisclosed settlement. And yes, this can and will happen to you if you have an ERISA plan.
In addition to all of the other reasons you have to contact an attorney, you need to see if you have an ERISA policy and if your health insurer may be entitled to reimbursement before you recover any money!