(a) If, at any time during the certification for medical assistance, the recipient becomes possessed of any property, real or personal, or income in excess of the amount stated in such recipient’s application for medical assistance or transfers any of such recipient’s property, real or personal, it shall be the duty of the recipient to immediately notify the local county office of the department. Any medical assistance paid after the recipient has come into possession of property, real or personal, or income, or has transferred any of such recipient’s property, real or personal, that renders the recipient ineligible to receive medical assistance under the rules and regulations of the department, shall be recoverable in a suit by the state as a debt due the state.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 71-2-306

  • Department: means the department of human services. See Tennessee Code 71-2-301
  • Medical assistance: means vendor payments or other payments for drugs in behalf of any person in need of this form of medical assistance as determined by department standards. See Tennessee Code 71-2-301
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Recipient: means a person receiving medical assistance under the terms of this part. See Tennessee Code 71-2-301
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Whoever:

(1) Knowingly obtains, or attempts to obtain, or aids, or abets any person to obtain by means of a willfully false statement or representation or by impersonation, or other fraudulent device, medical assistance to which such person is not entitled or medical assistance greater than that to which such person is justly entitled; or
(2) With intent to defraud, aids or abets in buying or in any way disposing of the property, either personal or real, of a recipient of medical assistance, without the consent of the department;

commits a Class E felony and is punishable accordingly, except such acts shall be punished as Class A misdemeanors where the amount involved is less than five hundred dollars ($500).

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