HLS 18RS-2078 ENGROSSED
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 69
BY REPRESENTATIVES GREGORY MILLER AND BACALA
MEDICAID: Requests a study concerning means by which to improve the Medicaid estate
recovery functions of the La. Department of Health
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to study means by which to
3 improve its Medicaid estate recovery functions, and to report findings of the study
4 to the House Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Finance, and
5 the legislative committees on health and welfare.
6 WHEREAS, Medicaid is the largest source of funding for institutional long-term care
7in this state and in the nation; and
8 WHEREAS, many persons who need long-term care may qualify for Medicaid
9assistance despite owning assets such as a home; and
10 WHEREAS, federal law specifically requires states, including Louisiana, to establish
11estate recovery programs in compliance with 42 U.S.C. 1396p for recovering benefits paid
12for institutional long-term care after the death of the person who received that care; and
13 WHEREAS, present Louisiana law, R.S. 46:153.4, requires the Louisiana
14Department of Health to establish an estate recovery program in compliance with 42 U.S.C.
151396p for the purpose of recovering Medicaid payments made on behalf of individuals from
16their succession estates; and
17 WHEREAS, R.S. 46:153.4 explicitly recognizes Louisiana's longstanding civil law
18tradition of preserving the legal rights of persons to inherit immovable property, and declares
19that a comprehensive plan should be developed to address the federal requirements for an
20estate recovery program while at the same time protecting our citizens' rights to home
21ownership and the state's interest in assuring the transfer of real property within families; and
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HCR NO. 69
1 WHEREAS, Louisiana's law providing for Medicaid estate recovery prohibits
2recovery on the first fifteen thousand dollars or one-half the median value of the homestead
3in each parish, whichever is higher, making our estate recovery program one of the most
4generous in the nation; and
5 WHEREAS, in the ten state fiscal years from 2007-2008 through 2016-2017, the
6average annual amount that Louisiana's Medicaid program collected through estate recovery
7was less than five hundred thirty thousand dollars, with the lowest annual figure of two
8hundred eighty-eight thousand dollars recovered occurring in fiscal year 2015-2016; and
9 WHEREAS, these figures represent a small fraction of the monies that the state is
10authorized by law to recover for benefits paid through its Medicaid-financed institutional
11long-term care program which now expends over one billion dollars annually for nursing
12home care for over thirty thousand Louisiana citizens; and
13 WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of this state, as a matter of both fiscal policy and
14public health policy, to better avail itself of existing laws authorizing and providing for
15Medicaid estate recovery.
16 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
17urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to study means by which to improve
18its Medicaid estate recovery functions.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study called for in this Resolution shall
20include, but not be limited to, an examination of all of the following:
21 (1) Means by which to increase recovery amounts in a cost-neutral manner utilizing
22existing staff and departmental resources.
23 (2) Benefits of wider usage of Medicaid liens authorized through the federal Tax
24Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act, known commonly as "TEFRA liens".
25 (3) Administrative actions, including amendments to the Medicaid state plan
26established in accordance with Title XIX of the Social Security Act, or legislation necessary
27to institute greater use of TEFRA liens in Medicaid long-term care programs.
28 (4) The potential establishment of a new data system or improvements in existing
29data systems which could facilitate easier identification of assets subject to recovery.
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HCR NO. 69
1 (5) The potential utilization of public or private vendors to assist the department in
2recovery efforts.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall issue
4findings and recommendations from the study called for in this Resolution in the form of a
5report to the House Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Finance, the
6House Committee on Health and Welfare, and the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare
7no later than sixty days prior to the convening of the 2019 Regular Session of the Legislature
8of Louisiana.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
10secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 69 Engrossed 2018 Regular Session Gregory Miller
Request the La. Department of Health to study means by which to improve its Medicaid
estate recovery functions, and to report findings of the study to the House Committee on
Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Finance, and the legislative committees on health
and welfare.
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