HB 5922

HOUSE BILL NO. 5922
A bill to amend 1939 PA 280, entitled
"The social welfare act,"
by amending section 112g (MCL 400.112g), as added by
2007 PA 74.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 112g. (1) Subject to section 112c(5),
the department of community health shall
establish and operate the Michigan medicaid Medicaid estate recovery program to comply with
requirements contained in section 1917 of title XIX. The department of community health shall work with the
appropriate state and federal departments and agencies to review options for
development of a voluntary estate preservation program. Beginning not later
than 180 days after the effective date of the
amendatory act that added this section March 28,
2008 and every 180 days thereafter, the department of community health shall submit a report to the
senate and house appropriations subcommittees with jurisdiction over department
of community health matters and the senate
and house fiscal agencies regarding options for development of the estate
preservation program.
(2) The department of community health shall establish an estate
recovery program including various estate recovery program activities. These
activities shall must
include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(a) Tracking assets
and services of recipients of medical assistance that are subject to estate
recovery.
(b) Actions
necessary to collect amounts subject to estate recovery for medical services as
determined according to subsection (3)(a) provided to recipients identified in
subsection (3)(b). Amounts subject to recovery shall
must not exceed the cost of providing
the medical services. Any settlements shall must take into account the best interests of the
state and the recipient's spouse and heirs.
(c) Other
activities necessary to efficiently and effectively administer the program.
(3) The department of community health shall seek appropriate changes
to the Michigan medicaid Medicaid state plan and shall apply for any necessary
waivers and approvals from the federal centers for
medicare and medicaid services Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement the Michigan medicaid Medicaid estate
recovery program. The department of community
health shall seek approval from the federal centers
for medicare and medicaid Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services regarding all of the following:
(a) Which medical
services are subject to estate recovery under section 1917(b)(1)(B)(i) and (ii) of title XIX.
(b) Which
recipients of medical assistance are subject to estate recovery under section
1917(a) and (b) of title XIX.
(c) Under what
circumstances the program shall must pursue recovery from the estates of spouses of
recipients of medical assistance who are subject to estate recovery under
section 1917(b)(2) of title XIX.
(d) What actions
may be taken to obtain funds from the estates of recipients subject to recovery
under section 1917 of title XIX, including notice and hearing procedures that
may be pursued to contest actions taken under the Michigan medicaid Medicaid estate
recovery program.
(e) Under what
circumstances the estates of medical assistance recipients will be exempt from
the Michigan medicaid Medicaid estate recovery program because of a
hardship. At the time an individual enrolls in medicaid
Medicaid for long-term care services,
the department of community health shall
provide to the individual written materials explaining the process for applying
for a waiver from estate recovery due to hardship. The department of community health shall develop a definition of
hardship according to section 1917(b)(3) of title XIX that includes, but is not
limited to, the following:
(i) An exemption for the portion of the
value of the medical assistance recipient's homestead that is equal to or less
than 50% of the average price of a home in the county in which the medicaid medical
assistance recipient's homestead is located as of the date of the
medical assistance recipient's death.
(ii) An exemption for the portion of an
estate that is the primary income-producing asset of survivors, including, but
not limited to, a family farm or business.
(iii) A rebuttable presumption that no
hardship exists if the hardship resulted from estate planning methods under
which assets were diverted in order to avoid estate recovery.
(f) The
circumstances under which the department of
community health may review requests for exemptions and provide
exemptions from the Michigan medicaid Medicaid estate recovery program for cases that do
not meet the definition of hardship developed by the department. of community health.
(g) Implementing
the provisions of section 1396p(b)(3) 1917(b)(3) of title XIX to ensure that the heirs of
persons subject to the Michigan medicaid Medicaid estate recovery program will not be
unreasonably harmed by the provisions of this program.
(4) The department of community health shall not seek medicaid Medicaid estate
recovery if the costs of recovery exceed the amount of recovery available or if
the recovery is not in the best economic interest of the state.
(5) The department of community health shall not implement a Michigan
medicaid Medicaid estate
recovery program until approval by the federal government is obtained.
(6) The department of community health shall not recover assets from
the home of a medical assistance recipient if 1 or more of the following
individuals are lawfully residing in that home:
(a) The medical
assistance recipient's spouse.
(b) The medical
assistance recipient's child who is under the age of 21 years, or is blind or
permanently and totally disabled as defined in section 1614 of the social
security act, 42 USC 1382c.
(c) The medical
assistance recipient's caretaker relative who was residing in the medical
assistance recipient's home for a period of at least 2 years immediately before
the date of the medical assistance recipient's admission to a medical
institution and who establishes that he or she the medical assistance recipient's caretaker relative provided
care that permitted the medical assistance recipient to reside at home rather
than in an institution. As used in this subdivision, "caretaker
relative" means any relation by blood, marriage, or adoption who is within
the fifth degree of kinship to the recipient.
(d) The medical
assistance recipient's sibling who has an equity interest in the medical
assistance recipient's home and who was residing in the medical assistance
recipient's home for a period of at least 1 year immediately before the date of
the individual's admission to a medical institution.
(7) The department of community health shall provide written
information to individuals seeking medicaid medical assistance eligibility for long-term care
services describing the provisions of the Michigan medicaid
Medicaid estate recovery program,
including, but not limited to, a statement that some or all of their estate may
be recovered.
(8) The department of community health shall not charge interest on
the balance of any Michigan medicaid Medicaid estate recovery payments.
(9) The department of community health shall not place or record a
lien on qualifying property under the tax equity and fiscal responsibility act
of 1982, Public Law 97-424 97-248 (TEFRA).
(10) Unless required by federal law, the department shall not seek
Medicaid estate recovery from the amount remaining in a medical assistance
recipient's ABLE savings account established under the Michigan achieving a
better life experience (ABLE) program act, 2015 PA 160, MCL 206.981 to 206.997.
Enacting section 1.
This amendatory act does not take effect unless Senate Bill No. ____ (request
no. S05839'25) or House Bill No. 5923 (request no. H05839'25) of the 103rd
Legislature is enacted into law.