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S1290.................................................by HEALTH AND WELFARE
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE - Amends existing law to clarify when medical assistance
may be recovered; and to specify when the cause of action accrues to void a
transfer which was made without adequate consideration.
02/09 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/10 Rpt prt - to Health/Wel
03/10 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/11 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/15 3rd rdg - PASSED - 29-0-6
AYES -- Andreason, Bailey, Bunderson, Burkett, Burtenshaw,
Calabretta, Compton, Darrington, Gannon, Geddes, Goedde, Hill,
Ingram, Kennedy, Keough, Little, Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McKenzie,
McWilliams, Noble, Pearce, Richardson, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stegner,
Sweet, Werk
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Brandt, Cameron, Davis, Noh, Stennett, Williams
Floor Sponsor - Sweet
Title apvd - to House
03/16 House intro - 1st rdg - to Health/Wel
03/18 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/19 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/20 3rd rdg - PASSED - 63-0-7
AYES -- Andersen, Barraclough, Barrett, Bayer, Bell, Black, Block,
Boe, Bolz, Bradford, Campbell, Cannon, Collins, Crow, Cuddy, Deal,
Denney, Douglas, Eberle, Edmunson, Ellsworth, Eskridge, Field(18),
Field(23), Gagner, Garrett, Henbest, Jaquet, Jones, Kellogg, Kulczyk,
Lake, Langford, Langhorst, Martinez, McGeachin, McKague, Meyer,
Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Naccarato, Nielsen, Pasley-Stuart, Raybould,
Ridinger, Ring, Ringo, Roberts, Robison, Rydalch, Sali, Sayler,
Schaefer, Shepherd, Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30), Smylie, Snodgrass,
Stevenson, Wills, Wood
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Bauer, Bedke, Clark, Harwood, Smith(24), Trail,
Mr. Speaker
Floor Sponsor - Nielsen
Title apvd - to Senate
03/20 To enrol - Rpt enrol - Pres signed
03/22 Sp signed - To Governor
03/23 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 216
Effective: 07/01/04
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1290
BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO RECOVERY OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE; AMENDING SECTION 56-218, IDAHO
3 CODE, TO CLARIFY WHEN MEDICAL ASSISTANCE MAY BE RECOVERED AND TO SPECIFY
4 WHEN THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES TO VOID A TRANSFER WITHOUT ADEQUATE CON-
5 SIDERATION.
6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
7 SECTION 1. That Section 56-218, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
8 amended to read as follows:
9 56-218. RECOVERY OF CERTAIN MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. (1) Except where exempted
10 or waived in accordance with federal law medical assistance pursuant to this
11 chapter paid on behalf of an individual who was fifty-five (55) years of age
12 or older when the individual received such assistance may be recovered from
13 the individual's estate, and the estate of the surviving spouse, if any, for
14 such aid paid to either or both; provided, however, that claim for such medi-
15 cal assistance correctly paid to the individual may be established against the
16 estate of either spouse, but there shall be no adjustment or recovery thereof
17 until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and only at a time when
18 the individual has no surviving child who is under twenty-one (21) years of
19 age or is blind or permanently and totally disabled as defined in 42 U.S.C.
20 1382c. Transfers of real or personal property, on or after the look-back dates
21 defined in 42 U.S.C. 1396p, by recipients of such aid, or their spouses, with-
22 out adequate consideration are voidable and may be set aside by an action in
23 the district court.
24 (2) Except where there is a surviving spouse, or a surviving child who is
25 under twenty-one (21) years of age or is blind or permanently and totally dis-
26 abled as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1382c, the amount of any medical assistance paid
27 under this chapter on behalf of an individual who was fifty-five (55) years of
28 age or older when the individual received such assistance is a claim against
29 the estate in any guardianship or conservatorship proceedings and may be paid
30 from the estate.
31 (3) Nothing in this section authorizes the recovery of the amount of any
32 aid from the estate or surviving spouse of a recipient to the extent that the
33 need for aid resulted from a crime committed against the recipient.
34 (4) For purposes of this section, the term "estate" shall include:
35 (a) All real and personal property and other assets included within the
36 individual's estate, as defined for purposes of state probate law; and
37 (b) Any other real and personal property and other assets in which the
38 individual had any legal title or interest at the time of death (to the
39 extent of such interest), including such assets conveyed to a survivor,
40 heir, or assign of the deceased individual through joint tenancy, tenancy
41 in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement.
42 (5) Claims made pursuant to this section shall be classified and paid as
43 a debt with preference as defined in section 15-3-805(5), Idaho Code. Any dis-
2
1 tribution or transfer of the estate prior to satisfying such claim is voidable
2 and may be set aside by an action in the district court. The personal repre-
3 sentative of every estate subject to a claim under this section must, within
4 thirty (30) days of the appointment, give notice in writing to the director of
5 his or her appointment to administer the estate.
6 (6) The department may file a notice of lien against the property of any
7 estate subject to a claim under this section. In order to perfect a lien
8 against real or personal property, the department shall, within ninety (90)
9 days after the personal representative or successor makes a written request
10 for prompt action to the director, or two (2) years from the death of the
11 individual for whom medical assistance was paid under this chapter, whichever
12 is sooner, file a notice of lien in the same general form and manner as pro-
13 vided in section 56-218A(3)(a), Idaho Code, in the office of the secretary of
14 state, pursuant to section 45-1904, Idaho Code. Failure to file a notice of
15 lien does not affect the validity of claims made pursuant to this section.
16 (7) The director shall promulgate rules reasonably necessary to implement
17 this section including, but not limited to, rules establishing undue hardship
18 waivers for the following circumstances:
19 (a) The only asset of the estate provides the primary source of support
20 for other family members; or
21 (b) The estate has a value below an amount specified in the rules; or
22 (c) Recovery under the lien by the department will entitle the heirs of
23 the deceased individual to public assistance.
24 (8) The cause of action to void a transfer without adequate consideration
25 established in this section shall not be deemed to have accrued until the
26 department discovers, or reasonably could have discovered, the facts consti-
27 tuting the transfer without adequate consideration.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 13525
Under federal and state law, the state is authorized to set aside
transfers of assets owned by recipients of Medicaid where the
transfer is made without adequate consideration and those assets
could have been used to pay for the medical assistance provided
through Medicaid. In a recent decision, a state district court
ruled that the state's action was barred by a four year statute of
limitations which ran from the date of the transfer even though the
circumstances of the transfer were not reasonably discovered by the
state until after the four years had elapsed. The proposed
legislation adds language to Idaho Code Section 56-218 that would
prevent the statute of limitations from running until such time as
the state discovers, or reasonably could have discovered, that the
asset transfer was without adequate consideration. "Discovers" or
"reasonably could have discovered" as used in proposed subsection
56-218(8) is intended to have the same meaning as "discovery", as
interpreted by the courts, in subsection 5-218(4), Idaho Code.
The proposed legislation also makes a technical correction to Idaho
Code 56-218 to clarify that the non-Medicaid spouse of a Medicaid
recipient need not survive the Medicaid recipient in order for the
department to file a claim against the community property of the
non-Medicaid spouse's estate.
FISCAL IMPACT
Additional Medicaid recovery is difficult to estimate because
details of transfers have been concealed from the state. For
purposes of this legislation, additional recovery is estimated as
follows:
SFY 2005: $100,000
SFY 2006: $100,000
SFY 2007: $100,000
SFY 2008: $100,000
SFY 2009: $100,000
CONTACT
Name: Kathleen Allyn
Agency: Department of Health and Welfare
Phone: 208-334-5747
Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Impact S 1290