Judge rules against liens for Medicaid

Tuesday, July 30, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

A Las Vegas judge's ruling will help Nevada's seniors keep their homes, attorneys for the AARP said.

District Court Judge Ron Parraguirre ruled Monday morning to bar the state from putting liens on the homes of Medicaid recipients and ordered all existing liens removed, saying that the state violated a federal statute barring states from placing liens on homes until both husband and wife have died.

Las Vegas attorney Jim O'Reilly launched the class-action lawsuit, which he estimates may include up to 200 Nevada seniors who had liens placed on their homes to pay medical bills.

The suit comes following the case of Las Vegas widow Agnes Ullmer, 86, whose home was hit with a lien for $144,000 as part of a state effort to recover Medicaid payments made on behalf of her husband, Harold, who died in 2001. According to O'Reilly, the lien was worth more than the house.

Ullmer's home represents her only asset, O'Reilly said, and she needs to sell it to pay for assisted living, which can run upwards of $2,400 per month. Ullmer, whose only source of income is a $648-a-month Social Security check, has less than $5,000 in cash, O'Reilly said.

O'Reilly said the ruling represents a victory for Nevada families like Ullmer's.

"The ruling has stopped the erosion of life-care options for seniors," O'Reilly said.

Alaska, California, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Jersey and Montana have already ruled against such practices and oppose Nevada's position, O'Reilly said.

"Nevada stands alone in this heinous practice," he said.

In many cases, O'Reilly said, the liens were for more than the actual value of the homes, leaving the seniors no money to pay for assisted living and other expenses.

For Ullmer, the sale of her home would leave her with nothing to pay for assisted living expenses, O'Reilly said.

"Without the home, there's nothing left in the pot for her," he said.

A date has not been set for the next hearing in the claim.