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RULES OF
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH
CHAPTER 111-3
DIVISION OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
111-3-8
RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR ESTATE RECOVERY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
111-3-8-.01 Legal Authority
111-3-8-.02 Definitions
111-3-8-.03 Notification to Member or Their Heirs
111-3-8-.04 Recovery for Payments Made on Behalf of Medicaid-Eligible
Persons
111-3-8-.05 Recovery of Assistance; Probate
111-3-8-.06 Recovery of Assistance; No Estate
111-3-8-.07 Imposition of Liens
111-3-8-.08 Hardship Waiver
111-3-8-.01 Legal Authority
In accordance with Title XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §
1396p, the State of Georgia
has defined a process to recover the
cost of medical assistance
payments from the estates of deceased
Members. The Official
Code of Georgia gives the state the
authority to recover these
monies. O.C.G.A. § 49-4-147.1. In
addition, the recovery
methodology must adhere to statutory
provisions of the Georgia
Revised Probate Code of 1998,
O.C.G.A. Title 53.
Authority: O.C.G.A. § 49-4-147.1.
111-3-8-.02 Definitions
(1) "Authorized representative" means a guardian or a
person designated by the Member to act on his or her behalf
during the Member's life.
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(2) "Creditor” means an entity (person or institution) to whom
an obligation is owed because a Member received something of
value in exchange.
(3) "Debt" means a sum of money owed from one person to
another, including the right of the creditor to receive and enforce
payment.
(4) "Department" means the Georgia Department of
Community Health, Division of Medical Assistance.
(5) "Discharge from the medical institution and return home"
means a qualifying discharge, which involves the Member's
dismissal from the nursing institution and/or facility for at least
thirty (30) days wherein the Member's personal effects and bed
are released at the same time of his or her discharge.
(6) "Equity interest in the home" means value of the property
in which the Member holds legal interest beyond the amount owed
on it in mortgages and liens.
(7) "Estate" means all real and personal property under the
probate code, including real and personal property passing by
reason of joint tenancy, right of survivorship, life estate,
survivorship, trust, annuity, Individual Retirement Accounts,
homestead or any other arrangement. Estate also includes excess
funds from a burial trust or contract, promissory notes, cash, and
personal property. Estates with a gross value of $25,000 or less
are exempt from estate recovery.
(8) "Hearing" means a formal proceeding before an
Administrative Law Judge or Probate Judge in which an aggrieved
party affected by an action or an intended action of the
Department shall be allowed to present testimony, documentary
evidence, and argument as to why such action should or should
not be taken.
(9) "Heirs" means heirs-at-law who are entitled under the
statutes of intestate succession to property of a decedent and
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beneficiaries who are entitled to inherit the estate if there is a
lawful will.
(10) "Lawfully residing" means permissive use by the
owner/power of attorney at the law.
(11) "Lien" means a claim, encumbrance or charge against
the Medicaid Member's real or personal property on account of
medical assistance paid to the Member correctly under the State
Plan. A Lien may be placed on the real property of a Member who
is an inpatient of a nursing facility, intermediate care facility for
individuals with intellectual disabilities, or other institution or a Lien
may be placed on both real and personal property of a Member
after the Member's death.
(12) "Long-term care" means a service provided in a long-
term care facility or in the home, pursuant to federally approved
home and community based services, as an alternative to
institutionalization.
(13) "Medical assistance" means payment by the State's
program under Title XIX of the Social Security Act or Medicaid
program administered by the Department.
(14) "Member" means a person who has been certified as
Medicaid eligible, pursuant to the terms of the State Plan, to have
medical assistance paid on his or her behalf.
(15) "Member's home" means a true, fixed and permanent
domicile and principal establishment to which the Member has the
intention of returning to whenever absent.
(16) "Permanently institutionalized" means residing in a
nursing facility or intermediate care facility for individuals with
intellectual disabilities and developmentally disabled for six (6)
consecutive months or more.
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(17) "Personal representative" means an executor,
administrator, guardian, conservator, committee, trustee, fiduciary,
or other person having a status which by operation of law or
written instrument confers upon such person a duty of distributing
property to Heirs.
(18) "On a continuous basis" means that the qualifying
relative lived with the Member in the Member's home at his or her
principal place of residence during an uninterrupted timeframe. An
absence of residence greater than six months is presumed to
disrupt the continuity of residence.
(19) "Residing in the home for at least one or two years"
means one is domiciled in the principal place of residence.
(20) "State Plan" means all documentation submitted by the
Commissioner, on behalf of the Department, to and for approval
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to Title
XIX of the federal Social Security Act of 1935, as amended.
Authority: O.C.G.A. § 49-4-147.1.
111-3-8-.03 Notification to Member or Their Heirs
(1) If a debt is due pursuant to this section from the estate of
a Member, the administrator of the nursing facility, intermediate
care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities, or medical
institution in which the Member resided at the time of their death,
the Medicaid case manager for community based services and/or
the personal representative, if applicable, shall report the death to
the Department within thirty (30) days of the death of the Member.
(2) If the personal representative of an estate makes a
distribution either in whole or in part of the property of an estate to
the Heirs, next of kin, distributes, legatees, or devisees without
having executed the obligations pursuant to this section, the
personal representative may be held personally liable for the
amount of medical assistance paid on behalf of the Member, for
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the full value of the property belonging to the estate which may
have been in the custody or control of the personal representative.
(3) When the Department receives notification of an affected
Medicaid Member's death, a written notice will be provided to any
known personal representative and any known Heirs which:
(a) Explains the terms and conditions of estate recovery and
refers to the applicable statute and regulations;
(b) Advises of the Department's intent to recover the value of
Medicaid benefits correctly paid on the Member's behalf from the
Member's estate and states the amount;
(c) Explains that the Department's recovery action may
include filing a lien on real property when recovery is delayed;
(d) Explains that the Heirs may file an undue hardship waiver
and the procedures and time frames for filing the waiver;
(e) Advises the Heirs of their right to a hearing and the
method by which they may obtain a hearing; and
(f) Includes a statement advising the amount of the claim
may increase if there are additional Medicaid claims that have not
yet been processed.
Authority: O.C.G.A § 49-4-147.1.
111-3-8-.04 Recovery for Payments Made on Behalf of
Medicaid-Eligible Persons
(1) These regulations shall be construed and applied to
further the intent of the Legislature to supplement Medicaid funds
that are used to provide medical services to eligible persons.
Estate recovery shall be accomplished by the Department or its
agent filing a statement of claim against the estate or with the
closest identifiable surviving family members of a deceased
Medicaid Member or any person who has an interest in property of
the deceased member. Recovery shall be made pursuant to
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federal authority in § 13612 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act of 1993 which amends § 1917(b)(1) of the Social Security Act,
42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)(1).
(2) Adjustment or recovery for all medical assistance and/or
services pursuant to the State Plan will be from Medicaid
Members:
(a) Who, at the time of death, were any age and an inpatient
in a nursing facility, intermediate care facility for individuals with
intellectual disability, or other medical institution if the Member is
required, as a condition of receiving services in the facility under
the State Plan, to spend for costs of medical care all but a minimal
amount of the person's income required for personal needs; or
(b) Who, at the time of death, were fifty-five (55) years of age
or older when the Member received medical assistance, but only
for medical services consisting of nursing facility services,
personal care services, home and community based services, and
hospital and prescription drug services provided to Members in
nursing facilities or receiving home and community based
services.
(3) The Department shall provide written notice of the Estate
Recovery program to Members at the time of application for
medical assistance and the Members must sign a written
acknowledgement of receipt of such notice. Notice will be given to
Members thereafter at the annual redetermination. Members
currently receiving medical assistance prior to the Estate
Recovery program's effective date set forth in Paragraph (17) of
this Rule will be notified at his or her annual redetermination. A
notification by the Medicaid Eligibility Systems that the notice was
sent and acknowledged by the Member and the Member’s
personal representative by U.S. mail or electronic means of
communication for those who have elected to receive electronic
communications to the last known address of the Member or the
Member’s personal representative shall be deemed to satisfy this
notice requirement.
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(4) The acceptance of public medical assistance, as defined
by Title XIX of the Social Security Act, including mandatory and
optional supplemental payments under the Social Security Act,
shall create a debt to the agency in the amount recoverable under
the State Plan. The Department shall be given priority status,
upon filing a statement of claim in the estate proceeding if an
estate proceeding has been filed. In addition, priority status
attaches to the Department’s interest regardless whether an
estate proceeding has been initiated.
(5) The Department may amend the claim as a matter of
right until the Member's estate has been closed.
(6) The Department's provider processing reports shall be
admissible as prima facie evidence in substantiating the agency's
claim.
(7) Any trust provision that denies recovery for medical
assistance is void on and after the time of its making.
(8) Adjustment or recovery of debt will be made only after the
death of the Member's surviving spouse, if any, and only at a time
when the Member has no surviving child who is under the age of
twenty-one (21), or a child who is blind or permanently and totally
disabled pursuant to the eligibility requirements of Title XIX of the
Social Security Act.
(9) With respect to a lien placed on the home of a
permanently institutionalized Member, the Department will not
seek adjustment or recovery of Medical assistance correctly paid
on behalf of the Member until the following persons are not
residing in the Member's home:
(a) A sibling of the Member with an equity interest in the
home who was residing in the Member's home for at least one (1)
year on a continuous basis immediately before the date that the
Member was institutionalized; and
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(b) A child of the Member who was residing in the Member's
home for at least two (2) years on a continuous basis before the
date that the Member was institutionalized and who has
established to the satisfaction of the Department that he or she
provided care that permitted the Member to reside at home rather
than to become institutionalized.
(10) The sibling or child of the Member must demonstrate that
he or she has been lawfully residing in the Member's home on a
continuous basis for the periods described in Paragraphs (9)(a)
and (b) respectively, since the date of the Member's admission to
the medical institution, and must provide the Department with
clear and convincing evidence to prove residency which may
include, but not be limited to, receipts, mortgage statements, bills,
mail forwarded to Member's address, or voter's registration. The
sibling or child of the Member must demonstrate that he or she did
not reside in any other residence except the Member's home
during the periods of time set forth in Paragraphs (9)(a) and (b)
respectively. The sibling or child shall maintain the burden of proof
in all proceedings.
(11) No debt under this section shall be enforced against any
property that is determined to be exempt from the claims of
creditors under the constitution or laws of this state.
(12) The Department may delay or waive recovery from an
estate if doing so would cause undue hardship for the qualified
Heirs, as defined in Rule 111-3-8-.08. The personal representative
of an estate and any Heir may request that the agency waive
recovery.
(13) The state's right to full reimbursement of the costs of
medical assistance shall not be diminished by the recovery of any
judgment, settlement, or award of an amount less than the value
of the original or settled claim. To enforce its rights, the state may
intervene or join in any action or proceeding brought by a claimant
against a third party. To aid in the recovery of the cost of medical
assistance, the state shall have a first lien in the full amount of the
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costs of medical assistance against the proceeds from all
damages awarded in a suit or settlement.
(14) Transfers of real or personal property, on or after the
look-back dates defined in 42 U.S.C. § 1396p, by a Member of
such aid, or by their spouse, without adequate consideration are
voidable and may be set aside by an action in court.
(15) Counsel fees, costs, or other expenses shall not reduce
any third party recovery obtained by the state incurred by the
Member or the Member's attorney.
(16) If, after the reported death of the Member, the
Department is prohibited from Estate Recovery because of
exemption conditions, the Department may postpone recovery
until all exemption conditions are no longer present. An estate
does not have to be open in order for the Department to execute
its claim after all exemption conditions are no longer present.
Termination of recovery will occur when all real and personal
property included as part of the Member's estate is no longer
accessible due to all estate property having been depleted
through payment of costs of medical care for the Member and the
Member’s spouse.
(17) The effective date of the Medicaid Estate Recovery
Program is May 3, 2006. Adjustment or recovery shall apply to
those costs associated with medical assistance and/or services a
Member received on or after the effective date.
(18) To prevent substantial and unreasonable hardship, the
Commissioner shall waive any claim against the first $25,000.00
of any estate subject to an Estate Recovery claim for the
deceased Medicaid Member with a date of death on or after July
1, 2018.
Authority: O.C.G.A. § 49-4-147.1 and 42 U.S.C. 1396p.
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111-3-8-.05 Recovery of Assistance; Probate
(1) After receipt of notice of the death of an affected
Member, the Department will file a claim against the estate for the
full value of the Medicaid benefits paid on behalf of the Member.
(2) No action to recover a debt due by the deceased Member
shall be commenced against the personal representative until the
expiration of six (6) months from the date of qualification of the
first personal representative to serve.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, a claim filed for recovery
of Medicaid assistance has priority in order of payment from the
estate over all other claims, except the following:
(a) Years support for the family;
(b) Funeral expenses in an amount not to exceed ten
thousand dollars ($10,000). However, this amount is zero (0) if the
deceased Member has prepaid funeral expenses that were
excluded as a resource for Medicaid eligibility;
(c) Necessary expenses of administration;
(d) Reasonable expenses of the deceased Member's last
illness; and
(e) Unpaid taxes or other debts due the state or the United
States. The category of Medicaid Estate Recovery is a debt due
the state.
(4) The affidavit of a person designated by the
Commissioner to administer this action is prima facie evidence of
the amount of the claim.
(5) Notwithstanding any statute of limitations or other claim
presentation deadline provided by law, a state claim against an
estate is not barred for lack of timely presentation if it is presented
in the probate proceeding within the time specified in the
published notice to creditors.
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(6) The personal representative must notify the Department
in writing at 2 Peachtree St. N.W. 5
th
Floor Atlanta, Georgia 30303
of the Member's death at least thirty (30) days before disbursing
assets of the Member and shall not disburse assets prior to
obtaining a release from the Department. The personal
representative is personally liable for any incorrectly paid assets if
the Department is not informed of the Member's death and assets
are distributed to Heirs and/or creditors without having first
obtained a release from the Department. The Department shall
issue a release within ten (10) business days from the satisfaction
of the claim with the Department.
Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 49-4-147.1 and 53-7-42.
111-3-8-.06 Recovery of Assistance; No Estate
(1) The administrator of the program may present an affidavit
to a financial institution requesting that the financial institution
release account proceeds to recover the cost of services correctly
provided to a Member. The affidavit shall include the following
information:
(a) The name of the deceased Member;
(b) The name of any person who gave notice that the
Member was a Medicaid Member and that person's relationship to
the deceased Member;
(c) The name of the financial institution;
(d) The account number;
(e) A description of the claim for estate recovery; and
(f) The amount of funds to be recovered.
(2) A financial institution shall release account proceeds to
the administrator of the program if all of the following conditions
apply;
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(a) The deceased Member held an account at the financial
institution that was in his or her name only;
(b) No estate has been, and it is reasonable to assume that
no estate will be, opened for the deceased Member;
(c) The deceased Member has no outstanding debts known
to the administrator of the program; and
(d) The financial institution has received no objections or has
determined that no valid objections to release proceeds have
been received.
(3) If proceeds have been released pursuant to this section
and the Department receives notice of a valid claim to the
proceeds that has a higher priority under O.C.G.A. 53-7-40 than
the claim of this section, the Department may refund the proceeds
to the financial institution or pay them to the person or government
entity with the claim.
Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 49-4-147.1 and 53-7-40.
111-3-8-.07 Imposition of Liens
(1) The basis for authority to impose liens is based on the
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA). The
TEFRA lien law provides that the agency can place a Lien on the
available real estate of a Member who enters a nursing home and
is "permanently institutionalized."
(2) The state may place a Lien on the Member's home when
there is not a reasonable expectation that the Member will return
home and when none of the following persons are living in the
home:
(a) The Member's spouse;
(b) A child under twenty-one (21) years of age;
(c) A disabled child of any age; or
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(d) A sibling with an equity interest in the home who has
lived in the home for at least one (1) year before the Member
entered the nursing home, and is lawfully residing in such home.
The sibling must provide the State with clear and convincing
evidence which demonstrates residency on a continuous basis
and the sibling's equity interest. Additionally, the sibling must
demonstrate that he or she did not reside in any other residence
except the Member's home during the period of time specified in
this subparagraph (2)(d). The sibling has the burden of proof in all
proceedings.
(3) Liens may be imposed to protect recovery of benefits
correctly paid to Medicaid Members when permitted by federal
and state law. However, the use of lien authority requires prior
notification to the Member or any known Heirs.
(4) The Department shall notify the Member and the
authorized representative, if applicable, of its determination that
the Member is permanently institutionalized and not reasonably
expected to return home and its intent to file a Lien on Member's
real property. Notice must include an explanation of liens and their
effect on a Member's ownership of real property. A Lien may not
be filed less than thirty-one (31) days from the date of the notice to
the Member and after any hearing process has been completed, if
a hearing is requested.
(5) A Member or his or her authorized representative may,
within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice request an
administrative hearing under this Rule 111-3-8-.07. A Member is
deemed to have received notice within five (5) days from the date
of the notice. Administrative hearings and appeals for Medicaid
Members are governed by the procedures and time limits set forth
in 42 C.F.R. § 431.200 et seq. Only one (1) appeal shall be
afforded on behalf of a Member, for each notice received. The
administrative law judge shall make the determination if a Member
can or cannot reasonably be expected to be discharged from the
medical institution and returned home or if a specific exception set
forth in 111-3-8-.07(2) applies.
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(6) The Department or its agent shall file a notice of Lien with
the recorder of the county in which the real property subject to the
Lien is located. The notice shall be filed prior to the Member's
death and shall include the following:
(a) Name and place of residence, including the street and
county in which the property is located, of the real property subject
to the Lien; or
(b) Legal description of the real property subject to the Lien.
(7) The Department shall file one (1) copy of the notice of
Lien with the local DFCS office in the county in which the real
property is located. The county in which the real property is
located shall retain a copy of the notice with the county office's
records. The Department or its agent shall provide one (1) copy of
the notice of Lien to the Member and the Member's authorized
representative, if applicable, whose real property is affected.
(8) The Lien continues from the date of filing until the Lien is
satisfied, released or expires. From the date on which the notice
of Lien is recorded in the office of the county recorder, the notice
of lien:
(a) Constitutes due notice against the Member or Member's
estate for any amount then recoverable under this article; and
(b) Gives a specific Lien in favor of the Department on the
Medicaid Member's interest in the real property.
(9) The Department has the authority to release any lien
placed upon the property of a Member deemed permanently
institutionalized should that Member be subject to a discharge
from a medical institution and return home. The Department shall
release a lien obtained under this rule within thirty (30) days after
the Department receives notice that the Member is no longer
institutionalized and is living in his or her home. If the real property
subject to the lien is sold, the office shall release its lien at the
closing and the lien shall attach to the net proceeds of the sale.
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Authority: O.C.G.A. § 49-4-147.1 and Ga. Comp. Rules & Regs.,
R. 290-1-1-.01.
111-3-8-.08 Hardship Waiver
(1) Hardship waivers will be submitted to the program
administrator for review. The denial of a hardship waiver may be
appealed as provided under the Administrative Procedures Act,
O.C.G.A. § 50-13-1 et. seq. The waiver is limited to the period in
which the undue hardship exists.
(2) There is no hardship waiver provided at the time of lien
placement against the real property of a deceased Medicaid
Member. The equity interest of the heir will be considered to
determine the percentage of the deceased member's interest in
the property.
(3) Lien placement is utilized to delay recovery until such
time as an exemption to recovery does not exist, or in the case of
an undue hardship, until such time as the undue hardship no
longer exists. The state's lien would be for the Medicaid benefits
paid on behalf of the Member or the percentage of interest of the
deceased Member at the time of sale, whichever is less.
(4) Recovery will be waived in whole or in part pursuant to
Rule 111-3-8-.08(1) of any estate or lien recovery when the
requesting party is able to show, through clear and convincing
evidence, that the state's pursuit of recovery subjects them to
undue hardship. In determining whether an undue hardship exists,
the following criteria will be used:
(a) The asset to be recovered is an income producing farm
and sole income source of one or more of the Heirs and the
annual gross income is limited to $25,000 or less and is not
merely rental income; or
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(b) The recovery of assets would cause the applicant to
become eligible for needs based governmental public assistance
based on need and/or medical assistance programs.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (4) of this
Rule, an undue hardship exists when an estate has a gross value
of $25,000 or less. Therefore, estates with a gross value of
$25,000 or less are exempt from estate recovery. In this instance,
undue hardship does not need to be asserted.
(6) Undue hardship does not exist when:
(a) The adjustment or recovery of the Member's cost of
assistance would merely cause the Member's family members
inconvenience or restrict the family's lifestyle; or
(b) The Member and/or the Heirs divest assets to qualify
under the undue hardship provision.
(7) To the extent that there is any conflict between the
preceding criteria and the standards that may be specified by the
secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
the federal standards shall prevail.
(8) The personal representative and/or Heirs shall apply for
an undue hardship exemption by:
(a) Making a written request to the Department within thirty
(30) days of receipt of the notice; and
(b) Verifying to the Department's satisfaction the criteria
specified in this section for an undue hardship waiver.
(9) The Department shall issue a decision on an undue
hardship exemption request within thirty (30) days of receipt of the
request and supporting documentation.
(10) If the state denies the personal representative's request
for an undue hardship waiver, the personal representative may
request an appeal. The denial of a waiver must state the
requirements of an application for an adjudicative proceeding to
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contest the Department's decision to deny the waiver and where
assistance may be obtained to make such application.
(11) If an appeal is requested, a hearing shall be conducted
by the probate judge if the estate is in probate court. An
administrative law judge shall conduct the administrative hearing if
the case is not in probate court.
(12) If the Department deems an undue hardship does exist,
the state may waive recovery or defer recovery until the death of
eligible exempt dependents, on the sole discretion of the
Department.
(13) The provisions of this section are severable. If any
provision of this section is held invalid, the remaining provisions
remain in effect.
Authority: O.C.G.A. § 49-4-147.1.