The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certiorari from a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decision that private insurers that provide Medicare benefits have the right to recover, just as the federal government does, from GlaxoSmithKline for expenses incurred for injuries consumers have suffered by taking the drugmaker’s Avandia diabetes drug.
The Third Circuit is the first circuit court to determine that Medicare Advantage/Part C organizations, or private insurers that get paid by the government to provide Medicare benefits, have the same right as the government to make subrogation claims and assert liens in federal court against settlements plaintiffs receive, said Michael Russell, an attorney with lien administrator Garretson Resolution Group, headquartered in Cincinnati and Charlotte, N.C.
