Action for declaration on reimbursing Medicare from suit proceeds dismissed as premature

In Baughan v. Thompson, Judge Michael of the W.D. Va. ruled that the action seeking a declaration of whether the government was entitled for reimbursement of Medicare benefits out of the proceeds of an insurance settlement could not proceed without first obtaining an administrative decision from the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. In the underlying claim, the plaintiff was injured by her neighbor's dog, her medical care was paid for initially by Medicare, and then she got a settlement from the neighbor's homeowners' insurance, and was trying to figure out what if anything should be paid out to the government.