Hospital Liens vs. Health Plan Claims in New Mexico

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

A New Mexico hospital, but not an individual doctor, may assert a lien on your settlement after attorney fees, court costs and expenses are subtracted. It is effective only if it filed an itemized, certified notice with the county clerk and sent certified-mail copies before any payment, and a payer who ignores it is liable for one year.

The lien

NMSA 48-8-1 lets every hospital in the state that furnishes emergency, medical or other service to a patient injured in an accident not covered by workers' compensation assert a lien on the part of the judgment, settlement or compromise belonging to the patient, less attorneys' fees, court costs and other expenses necessary to obtain it, for the reasonable, usual and necessary charges up to the date of payment.

Perfecting it

No lien is effective unless the hospital files with the county clerk where it is located a written notice with an itemized statement certified as correct, the accident date, the hospital and the person alleged to be liable, sends a copy by certified mail, return receipt requested, to that person before any payment to the patient or the attorney, and mails a copy to the home office of any known insurer. The person liable must disclose its insurer on request (48-8-2).

Payer liability

A person or insurer who pays after receiving the notice without paying the hospital, so far as the money can satisfy it after prior liens, is liable to the hospital for one year after payment, and the hospital may recover a reasonable attorney fee and its costs if it sues (48-8-3). The hospital must release the lien when paid (48-8-5).

What we did not find

We found no percentage cap on the lien and no lien statute for individual doctors. Because the lien reaches only what remains after your attorney fees and expenses, your lawyer's share is protected.

How an insurer's claim differs

A health plan's claim is not a hospital lien; see our post on health plan reimbursement. Medicaid and Medicare follow their own rules; see the Medicare and Medicaid post. Enter each claim in the New Mexico medical lien calculator.

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how New Mexico's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed New Mexico attorney.