Can My Social Security Disability Be Garnished by Medicare?

When a person falls into debt with a creditor, the creditor may choose to take legal action against the debtor. In the creditor files a breach-of-contract suit against the debtor and receives a civil judgment for damages, he has several options in how to attempt to collect the money. If the debtor will not voluntarily pay the money, the creditor---which can be both a private creditor or a government agency, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, which runs Medicare---may attempt to garnish the individual's wages.

Garnishment

When a creditor seeks garnishment, he is seeking to have a regular source of income for the borrower siphoned off to help pay off the debt that he owes. While garnishment is usually applied to wages from an employer, it can, in some places, be applied to other forms of income. When a person receives Social Security disability payments, he receives monthly checks that can, in some cases, be garnished.

Exemptions

Generally, payments made by the government to an individual, such as Social Security checks, are not eligible to be garnished by private creditors. Even after these payments have been deposited into a bank account, the creditor cannot seize the money. However, this rule does not apply to government agencies. The Department of Health and Human Services could, theoretically, seek the garnishment of a debtor's wage by serving a garnishment order on the Social Security Administration.

Medicare

Medicare is a government program that provides health coverage. Although Medicare is low cost, it is possible to run up a debt to the Department of Health and Human Services, such as through co-pays and premiums. If a person owes money to the government agency and fails to pay, the government may pursue payment in the manner of a private creditor, including through garnishment.

Considerations

In addition, it a person is sued by the U.S. government for an issue related to Medicare---such as after committing Medicare-related fraud---and damages are assessed against him, the government may attempt to seize his Social Security benefits to pay off the money he owes. However, the judge will likely set limits on what percentage of the benefits the government is allowed to garnish and the garnishment may be subject to state laws as well that can further restrict the garnishment.