Amici Curiae of NAELA, the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys (AFELA - NAELA Florida Chapter), Special Needs Alliance and the Elder Law Section of the Florida Bar

Juan Villa suffered significant injuries from an ATV accident. The Florida Medicaid program paid $322,222.27 toward Villa’s medical care. Villa later settled with an alleged tortfeasor for $1 million; the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) thereafter asserted a lien against the settlement amount for $321,720.16. Villa petitioned for administrative review, contending that only $13,881.79 represented compensation for past medical expenses and arguing that the lien should be reduced to this amount. Villa died during the pendency of the proceeding and his parents as personal representatives were substituted as petitioners. An ALJ affirmed AHCA's lien. Petitioners appealed.
 
The First District Court of Appeal (DCA) affirmed the ALJ's order, concluding that under Florida and federal Medicaid law AHCA may secure reimbursement for Medicaid expenditures from portions of a third-party settlement allocated to both past and future medical expenses. In a separate case before the Second District Court of Appeals, however, the court reached the opposite conclusion. Because of the conflicting appellate decisions, the Florida Supreme Court granted review. The court held that, under federal law, the AHCA may only reach the past medical expenses portion of a Medicaid recipient's tort recovery to satisfy its Medicaid lien. As such, the court quashed the decision of the First District Court of Appeals and remanded with instructions to direct the ALJ to reduce Villa's lien amount to $13,881.79.

A joint brief was submitted in the case of Giraldo v. Agency of Health Care Administration, which involved the balance between the State's right to recover medical expense paid through its Medicaid program and the recipient's property rights in his limited resources.