Montana Code 53-6-168. Payment of certain funds of deceased recipient to department
53-6-168. Payment of certain funds of deceased recipient to department. (1) (a) A nursing facility, a financial institution, or a person holding personal funds of a deceased nursing facility resident who received medicaid benefits at any time shall, within 30 days following the resident’s death, pay those funds to the department.
Terms Used In Montana Code 53-6-168
- Department: means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 53-6-155
- Financial institution: means any organization in the business of moving, investing, or lending money, dealing in financial instruments, or providing financial services, including but not limited to federally chartered and state-chartered banks, savings and loan associations, and credit unions. See Montana Code 53-6-165
- Medicaid: means the Montana medical assistance program established under Title 53, chapter 6. See Montana Code 53-6-155
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- Recipient: means a person:
(a)who has been determined by a medicaid agency to be eligible for medicaid benefits, whether or not the person actually has received any benefits; or
(b)who actually receives medicaid benefits, whether or not determined eligible. See Montana Code 53-6-155
- Recoverable medical assistance: means a payment pursuant to this part, including but not limited to a payment made for items or services provided to and insurance premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance paid on behalf of a recipient who:
(i)during the recipient's lifetime, was an inpatient in a nursing facility, intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled, or institution for mental disease and, with respect to that institutionalization, the department determined under 53-6-171 that the person was not reasonably expected to be discharged and return home; or
(ii)was at least 55 years of age or younger if allowed by 42 U. See Montana Code 53-6-165
- Recovery: means legal action brought for the payment or repayment of recoverable medical assistance or amounts of money paid for other purposes. See Montana Code 53-6-165
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(b)A nursing facility may satisfy a debt owed by the deceased resident to the facility from the deceased resident’s personal funds that are held by the nursing facility and that would have been payable to the facility from the resident’s funds. The facility shall pay the remaining funds to the department as required by this section.
(c)Funds paid to the department under this section are not considered to be property of the deceased resident’s estate, and 53-6-167 does not apply to recovery of the funds by the department.
(2)For purposes of this section, a nursing facility is holding personal funds of a resident if the facility:
(a)maintains possession of the funds in the facility; or
(b)as the recipient’s trustee or representative, has deposited the resident’s funds in an individual or shared account in a financial institution.
(3)The department shall apply any funds received under this section proportionately to the federal and state shares of recoverable medical assistance and shall pay any remaining amount to a person entitled by law to the funds.