Medicare liens can be a headache for plaintiffs attorneys. They can be tough to monitor or parse, and they typically force lawyers to negotiate their settlements with a blind spot, not knowing exactly how much of the lien will need to be paid back and how much might be forgiven. And now the feds are adding to that pressure by making sure personal injury lawyers know there will be consequences if their clients’ Medicare liens aren’t properly and timely reimbursed.

“I think it’s been pretty clear over the last year or so that U.S. attorneys across the country have seemingly made a more concerted effort in tracking down plaintiffs firms that aren’t satisfying their Medicare secondary payer requirements,” Michael Davey of Eckell, Sparks, Levy, Auerbach, Monte, Sloane, Matthews & Auslander in Media, Pennsylvania, said. ”It’s a shot across the bow.”