While it can be a frustrating, and even devastating, experience to deal with poor health care as a result of Medicare limits, you probably do not have the legal right to sue Medicare or the government because of it. It’s actually a relatively common situation. A person who is in a long-term, relatively costly medical situation, such as someone staying in a nursing home, will hit the limits of Medicare’s coverage fairly quickly. Any care required beyond those limits is not covered by the insurance. Unfortunately, some of that care is necessary; but the insured party is limited as Medicare will not cover the additional care needed.
In some situations, this might force the insured to make a choice, and simply go without the required care. Ultimately, the patient suffers as a result of Medicare’s limits and to someone in this unfortunate situation, it might seem logical to sue Medicare. However, in a legal sense, Medicare is still not responsible in the way that you might assume it would be. The issue here is that the burden of responsibility for receiving proper care does not fall on Medicare. It falls on the caregivers, such as the doctors and hospitals, and it falls on the patient and/or his or her caregivers.
If the medical facility made the decision to limit care due to limitations of medical insurance coverage, they can likely be held legally responsible, at least in some situations. If the patient or his or her caregivers made the decision to limit care because of Medicare coverage issues, even if they were forced by financial barriers to do so, they are considered legally responsible for that choice. The assumption is that it might be possible to seek care or funding elsewhere if the medical care is truly necessary--and the responsibility for doing that falls on the patient.
If you believe that you or a loved one received improper care, you may wish to consult with a lawyer to determine if you have any recourse against the nursing home or other care providers.