State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Nebraska > Chapter68 > 68-919

68-919. Medical assistance recipient; liability; when; claim; procedure; department; powers.(1) The recipient of medical assistance under the medical assistance program shall be indebted to the department for the total amount paid for medical assistance on behalf of the recipient if:(a) The recipient was fifty-five years of age or older at the time the medical assistance was provided; or(b) The recipient resided in a medical institution and, at the time of institutionalization or application for medical assistance, whichever is later, the department determines that the recipient could not have reasonably been expected to be discharged and resume living at home. For purposes of this section, medical institution means a nursing facility, an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded, or an inpatient hospital.(2) The debt accruing under subsection (1) of this section arises during the life of the recipient but shall be held in abeyance until the death of the recipient. Any such debt to the department that exists when the recipient dies shall be recovered only after the death of the recipient's spouse, if any, and only when the recipient is not survived by a child who either is under twenty-one years of age or is blind or totally and permanently disabled as defined by the Supplemental Security Income criteria.(3) The debt shall include the total amount of medical assistance provided when the recipient was fifty-five years of age or older or during a period of institutionalization as described in subsection (1) of this section and shall not include interest.(4) In any probate proceedings in which the department has filed a claim under this section, no additional evidence of foundation shall be required for the admission of the department's payment record supporting its claim if the payment record bears the seal of the department, is certified as a true copy, and bears the signature of an authorized representative of the department.(5) The department may waive or compromise its claim, in whole or in part, if the department determines that enforcement of the claim would not be in the best interests of the state or would result in undue hardship as provided in rules and regulations of the department. SourceLaws 1994, LB 1224, § 39; Laws 1996, LB 1044, § 334; Laws 2001, LB 257, § 1; Laws 2004, LB 1005, § 7; R.S.Supp.,2004, § 68-1036.02; Laws 2006, LB 1248, § 19; Laws 2007, LB185, § 2.AnnotationsThe plain and unambiguous language of this section provides that reimbursement claims for medical expenses arise at or after the death of the recipient. In re Estate of Tvrz, 260 Neb. 991, 620 N.W.2d 757 (2001).A claim by the Department of Health and Human Services Finance and Support for reimbursement of medical assistance benefits pursuant to this section is one that necessarily falls within the provisions of subsection (b) of section 30-2485 as arising "at or after" the death of the decedent who is a recipient of those benefits. In re Estate of Tvrz, 9 Neb. App. 98, 608 N.W.2d 226 (2000).