Under the medicaid program, any amount determined to be owed the state by a final fiscal audit conducted pursuant to section 5164.55 of the Revised Code, upon the issuance of an adjudication order pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that contains a finding that there is a preponderance of the evidence that a medicaid provider will liquidate assets or file bankruptcy in order to prevent payment of the amount determined to be owed the state, becomes a lien upon the real and personal property of the provider. Upon failure of the provider to pay the amount to the state, the medicaid director shall file notice of the lien, for which there shall be no charge, in the office of the county recorder of the county in which it is ascertained that the provider owns real or personal property. The director shall notify the provider by mail of the lien, but absence of proof that the notice was sent does not affect the validity of the lien. The lien is not valid as against the claim of any mortgagee, pledgee, purchaser, judgment creditor, or other lienholder of record at the time the notice is filed.

If the provider acquires real or personal property after notice of the lien is filed, the lien shall not be valid as against the claim of any mortgagee, pledgee, subsequent bona fide purchaser for value, judgment creditor, or other lienholder of record to such after-acquired property unless the notice of lien is refiled after the property is acquired by the provider and before the competing lien attaches to the after-acquired property or before the conveyance to the subsequent bona fide purchaser for value.

When the amount has been paid, the provider may record with the recorder notice of the payment. For recording such notice of payment, the recorder shall charge and receive from the provider a base fee of one dollar for services and a housing trust fund fee of one dollar pursuant to section 317.36 of the Revised Code.

In the event of a distribution of the provider’s assets pursuant to an order of any court under the law of this state including any receivership, assignment for benefit of creditors, adjudicated insolvency, or similar proceedings, amounts then or thereafter due the state under the medicaid program have the same priority as provided by law for the payment of taxes due the state and shall be paid out of the receivership trust fund or other such trust fund in the same manner as provided for claims for unpaid taxes due the state.

If the attorney general finds after investigation that any amount due the state under the medicaid program is uncollectable, in whole or in part, the attorney general shall recommend to the director the cancellation of all or part of the claim. The director may thereupon effect the cancellation.