2006 New York Code - Application Of Other Provisions

 
    §  369.  Application  of  other  provisions. 1. All provisions of this
  chapter not inconsistent with this title shall be applicable to  medical
  assistance  for  needy  persons  and  the  administration thereof by the
  social services districts.
    2. (a) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this  chapter  or
  other law, no lien may be imposed against the property of any individual
  prior to his or her death on account of medical assistance paid or to be
  paid on his or her behalf under this title, except:
    (i)  pursuant  to  the  judgment  of  a  court  on account of benefits
  incorrectly paid on behalf of such individual, or
    (ii) with respect to the real property of  an  individual  who  is  an
  inpatient  in  a  nursing  facility,  intermediate care facility for the
  mentally  retarded,  or  other  medical  institution,  and  who  is  not
  reasonably expected to be discharged from the medical institution and to
  return  home,  provided,  however,  any such lien will dissolve upon the
  individual's discharge from the medical institution and return home;  in
  addition, no such lien may be imposed on the individual's home if one of
  the following persons is lawfully residing in the home:
    (A) the spouse of the individual;
    (B)  a child of the individual who is under twenty-one years of age or
  who is blind or permanently and totally disabled; or
    (C) a sibling of the individual who has an equity interest in the home
  and who was residing in the home for a  period  of  at  least  one  year
  immediately before the date of the individual's admission to the medical
  institution.
    (b)  (i) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this chapter or
  other law, no adjustment or recovery may be made against the property of
  any individual on account of any medical assistance correctly paid to or
  on behalf of an individual under this title, except that recoveries must
  be pursued:
    (A) upon the sale of the property subject to a lien imposed on account
  of medical assistance paid to an individual described in clause (ii)  of
  paragraph   (a)  of  this  subdivision,  or  from  the  estate  of  such
  individual; and
    (B) from the estate of an individual who was fifty-five years  of  age
  or older when he or she received such assistance.
    (ii)  Any  such  adjustment  or  recovery shall be made only after the
  death of the individual's surviving spouse, if any, and only at  a  time
  when the individual has no surviving child who is under twenty-one years
  of  age  or  is  blind  or  permanently  and totally disabled, provided,
  however, that nothing herein contained shall be  construed  to  prohibit
  any  adjustment or recovery for medical assistance furnished pursuant to
  subdivision three of section three hundred sixty-six of this chapter.
    (iii) In the case  of  a  lien  on  an  individual's  home,  any  such
  adjustment or recovery shall be made only when:
    (A)  no sibling of the individual who was residing in the individual's
  home for a period of at least one year immediately before  the  date  of
  the  individual's  admission  to  a  medical  institution referred to in
  subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of  this  section,
  and  is  lawfully residing in such home and has lawfully resided in such
  home on a continuous basis since the date of the individual's  admission
  to the medical institution, and
    (B)  no  child  of the individual who was residing in the individual's
  home for a period of at least two years immediately before the  date  of
  the  individual's  admission  to  a  medical  institution referred to in
  subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of  this  section,
  and  who  establishes  to  the  satisfaction of the state that he or she
  provided care to such individual  which  permitted  such  individual  to
  reside  at  home rather than in an institution, and is lawfully residing
  in such home and has lawfully resided in such home on a continuous basis
  since the date of the individual's admission to the medical institution.
    (c)  Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be construed to alter
  or affect the right of a social services official to recover the cost of
  medical assistance provided to an injured person in accordance with  the
  provisions of section one hundred four-b of this chapter.
    (d) Where a recovery or adjustment is made pursuant to this title with
  respect to a case in a federally-aided category of medical assistance, a
  part  of the net amount resulting from such recovery or adjustment shall
  be paid or credited to the federal government pursuant  to  federal  law
  and  the  regulations  of  the  federal  department  of health and human
  services.
    3.  The  department  and  any  social  services  district  is   hereby
  authorized to maintain an action subject to sections one hundred one and
  one  hundred  four  of  this  chapter  to collect from either a trustee,
  creator, or creator's spouse  any  beneficial  interest  of  either  the
  creator  or  creator's  spouse  in  any trust, other than a testamentary
  trust, to reimburse such department or district for the costs of medical
  assistance furnished to, or on behalf of, a creator or creator's spouse.
  For the purpose of this subdivision,  the  beneficial  interest  of  the
  creator  or  creator's  spouse  includes  the  income  and any principal
  amounts to which  the  creator  or  creator's  spouse  would  have  been
  entitled by the terms of such trust by right or in the discretion of the
  trustee, assuming the full exercise of discretion by the trustee for the
  distribution  of  the  maximum  amount  to  either  the  creator  or the
  creator's spouse.
    4.  Any  inconsistent  provision  of  this  chapter   or   other   law
  notwithstanding,  all information received by social services and public
  health officials and service  officers  concerning  applicants  for  and
  recipients  of  medical  assistance  may  be  disclosed or used only for
  purposes  directly  connected  with  the   administration   of   medical
  assistance for needy persons.
    5.  The  requirements  of this section with respect to adjustments and
  recoveries of medical assistance correctly paid shall be waived in cases
  of undue hardship, as determined pursuant  to  the  regulations  of  the
  department  in  accordance with criteria established by the secretary of
  the federal department of health and human services.
    6. For purposes of this section, the term "estate" means all real  and
  personal  property  and  other  assets  included within the individual's
  estate and passing under the terms of a valid will or by intestacy.