§ 108A-70.5. Medicaid Estate Recovery Plan.
§ 108A‑70.5. MedicaidEstate Recovery Plan.
(a) There isestablished in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Medicaid EstateRecovery Plan, as required by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, torecover from the estates of recipients of medical assistance an equitableamount of the State and federal shares of the cost paid for the recipient. TheDepartment shall administer the program in accordance with applicable federallaw and regulations, including those under Title XIX of the Social SecurityAct, 42 U.S.C. § 1396(p).
(b) As used in thissection:
(1) "Medicalassistance" means medical care services paid for by the North CarolinaMedicaid Program on behalf of the recipient:
a. If the recipient ofany age is receiving medical care services as an inpatient in a nursingfacility, intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded, or othermedical institution, and cannot reasonably be expected to be discharged toreturn home; or
b. If the recipient is55 years of age or older and is receiving one or more of the following medicalcare services:
1. Nursing facilityservices.
2. Home and community‑basedservices.
3. Hospital care.
3a. Prescription drugs.
4. Personal careservices.
5 through 9. Repealedby Session Laws 2007‑442, s. 1, effective August 23, 2007.
(2) "Estate"means all the real and personal property considered assets of the estateavailable for the discharge of debt pursuant to G.S. 28A‑15‑1.
(3) Repealed by SessionLaws 2007‑442, s. 1, effective August 23, 2007.
(c) The amount theDepartment recovers from the estate of any recipient shall not exceed theamount of medical assistance made on behalf of the recipient and shall berecoverable only for medical care services prescribed in subsection (b) of thissection. The Department is a fifth‑class creditor, as prescribed in G.S.28A‑19‑6, for purposes of determining the order of claims againstan estate; provided, however, that judgments in favor of other fifth‑classcreditors docketed and in force before the Department seeks recovery formedical assistance shall be paid prior to recovery by the Department.
(d) The Department ofHealth and Human Services shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 150B of theGeneral Statutes to implement the Plan, including rules to waive whole or partialrecovery when this recovery would be inequitable because it would work an unduehardship or because it would not be administratively cost‑effective andrules to ensure that all recipients are notified that their estates are subjectto recovery at the time they become eligible to receive medical assistance.
(e) Repealed by SessionLaws 2007‑442, s. 1, effective August 23, 2007. (1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c.769, s. 25.47(a); 1997‑443, s. 11A.118(a); 2002‑126, s. 10.11(b);2005‑276, s. 10.21C(a); 2005‑345, s. 16; 2006‑66, s. 10.9B;2007‑145, s. 10; 2007‑323, ss. 10.42(a), (b); 2007‑442, s.1(a).)