SSHB 246: "An Act allowing a member of the teachers' retirement system or the public employees' retirement system to assign to a Medicaid-qualifying trust the member's right to receive a monetary benefit from the system; relating to the effect of a Medicaid-qualifying trust on the eligibility of a person for Medicaid; relating to the recovery of certain Medicaid payments from estates and trusts; and providing for an effective date."
00SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 246 01 "An Act allowing a member of the teachers' retirement system or the public 02 employees' retirement system to assign to a Medicaid-qualifying trust the member's 03 right to receive a monetary benefit from the system; relating to the effect of a 04 Medicaid-qualifying trust on the eligibility of a person for Medicaid; relating to 05 the recovery of certain Medicaid payments from estates and trusts; and providing 06 for an effective date." 07 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 * Section 1. PURPOSES. The purposes of this Act are to 09 (1) bring the state into compliance with federal law with respect to the recovery of 10 Medicaid payments from the estates and trusts of individuals under certain circumstances; 11 (2) allow diversion of certain employee pension payments into Medicaid-qualifying 12 trusts if the trusts provide that Medicaid payments made on behalf of the individual may be 13 recovered from the trust after the individual's death. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 14.25.200(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) Except as provided in AS 29.45.030(a)(1), member contributions and other 02 amounts held in the system on behalf of a member or other person who is or may 03 become eligible for benefits under the system are exempt from Alaska state and 04 municipal taxes and are not subject to anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, 05 assignment, pledge, encumbrance, or charge of any kind, either voluntary or 06 involuntary, before they are received by the person entitled to the amount under the 07 terms of the system, and any attempt to anticipate, alienate, sell, transfer, assign, 08 pledge, encumber, charge, or otherwise dispose of any right to amounts accrued in the 09 system is void. However, a member's right to receive benefits may be assigned 10 (1) under a qualified domestic relations order; or 11 (2) to a trust or similar legal device that meets the requirements for 12 a Medicaid-qualifying trust under 42 U.S.C. 1396p(d)(4). 13 * Sec. 3. AS 39.35.500 is amended to read: 14 Sec. 39.35.500. SAFEGUARD OF EMPLOYEE FUNDS HELD BY THE 15 SYSTEM. Except as provided in AS 29.45.030(a)(1), employee contributions and 16 other amounts held in the system are exempt from Alaska state and local taxes. 17 Amounts held on behalf of, or payable to, any employee or other person who is or 18 may become eligible for benefits under the system are not subject to anticipation, 19 alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, encumbrance, or charge of any kind, 20 either voluntary or involuntary, before being received by the person entitled to the 21 amount under the terms of the system. An attempt to anticipate, alienate, sell, transfer, 22 assign, pledge, encumber, charge, or otherwise dispose of a right to amounts held 23 under the system is void. However, an employee's right to receive benefits may be 24 assigned 25 (1) under a qualified domestic relations order; or 26 (2) to a trust or similar legal device that meets the requirements for 27 a Medicaid-qualifying trust under 42 U.S.C. 1396p(d)(4). 28 * Sec. 4. AS 47.07.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 29 (f) A person may not be denied eligibility for medical assistance under this 30 chapter on the basis of having diverted assets or income into a Medicaid-qualifying 31 trust that, according to a determination made by the department,
01 (1) meets the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 1396p(d)(4); and 02 (2) has provisions that require that the state will receive all of the trust 03 assets remaining at the death of the individual, subject to a maximum amount that 04 equals the total medical assistance paid on behalf of the individual. 05 * Sec. 5. AS 47.07 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Sec. 47.07.055. RECOVERY OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FROM 07 ESTATES. (a) The estate of an individual who received medical assistance payments 08 is subject to a claim for recovery of the medical assistance after the individual's death 09 that, except as provided in (b) of this section, may be secured by a lien filed against 10 the individual's real property during the individual's lifetime if the 11 (1) individual was an inpatient in a nursing facility, intermediate care 12 facility for the mentally retarded, or other medical institution; 13 (2) department required the individual, as a condition of receiving 14 medical assistance under this chapter, to spend for medical expenses all but a minimal 15 amount of that individual's income; and 16 (3) department determined during the individual's lifetime, after notice 17 and opportunity for hearing, that the individual could not reasonably be expected to 18 be discharged from the institution and to return home. 19 (b) A lien may not be filed under (a) of this section against an individual's 20 home and a claim against that portion of the estate consisting of the home may not be 21 brought, if the home is lawfully occupied by the individual's 22 (1) spouse; 23 (2) child under age 21; 24 (3) blind or disabled child as described in AS 47.25.615(3) or (5) or 25 42 U.S.C. 1382(c); or 26 (4) sibling, if the sibling has an equity interest in the home and was 27 residing in the home for at least one year before the date of the individual's admission 28 to the institution. 29 (c) A lien and claim authorized under (a) of this section are extinguished if, 30 during the individual's lifetime, the individual is discharged from the institution and 31 returns home. However, a new lien and claim are authorized for subsequent expenses
01 if the circumstances described in (a) of this section occur after the individual returns 02 home. 03 (d) In addition to recovery of medical assistance authorized under (a) - (c) of 04 this section, after an individual's death, the individual's estate is subject to a claim for 05 reimbursement for medical assistance payments made on behalf of the individual under 06 this chapter for nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and 07 related hospital and prescription drug services, to the extent that those services were 08 provided when the individual was 55 years of age or older. 09 (e) For purposes of AS 13.16.470, the claims authorized under this section are 10 debts with preference under the laws of the state. 11 * Sec. 6. This Act takes effect July 1, 1994.