New York bills for costs of care after alleged cases of abuse

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Bill Liblick was shocked to learn his sister, a disabled woman with the mind of a 1-year-old, had been sexually assaulted repeatedly at a state-run group home.

Then, after her death, he was astonished again when he received a $1.6 million bill from the state for the cost of her care.

Liblick says it was a coldhearted attempt by the state to get its hands on the money her estate eventually won in a lawsuit over her abuse.

"They were found negligent and grossly negligent, and now they want to be rewarded?" said Liblick, who secured a $2.5 million verdict against New York last month for the assaults Paula Liblick endured in 2009.

At least three times in recent years, New York has pursued Medicaid reimbursement of $1 million or more from those who allegedly suffered devastating, even deadly, mistreatment while in state care.

In two of those cases, the state eventually dropped its claims after the families contested them.

National experts said New York's pursuit of such claims appears to be highly unusual and is a misapplication of the 1993 federal law that requires states to recover, or "claw back," certain Medicaid costs from people's estates after their death.

"It's serious overreaching to attempt to recoup funding from people who have been abused in the system," said Susan Dooha, executive director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled, a nonprofit group in New York City. "It's very cynical, to say the least."

New York's Office for People with Developmental Disabilities declined to comment on any cases in particular but said it is mandatory under the law to file claims for reimbursement against a patient's lawsuit proceeds and the estates of those who were over 55 or were receiving chronic care under Medicaid.

"Settlements can be reached depending on the circumstances," agency spokeswoman Jennifer O'Sullivan said.

But other experts said states have wide discretion in deciding whether to pursue such claims, noting the law contains exceptions for various hardship situations.

And they questioned the ethics of clawbacks for care that was abusive or deadly.

"Those particular facts are not something I've heard about in other states," said Michelle Lilienfeld, senior attorney in Los Angeles with the National Health Law Program, which works for health-care access.