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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1396k. Assignment, enforcement, and collection of rights of payments for medical care; establishment of procedures pursuant to State plan; amounts retained by State
(a) For the purpose of assisting in the collection of medical
support payments and other payments for medical care owed to
recipients of medical assistance under the State plan approved
under this subchapter, a State plan for medical assistance shall -
(1) provide that, as a condition of eligibility for medical
assistance under the State plan to an individual who has the
legal capacity to execute an assignment for himself, the
individual is required -
(A) to assign the State any rights, of the individual or of
any other person who is eligible for medical assistance under
this subchapter and on whose behalf the individual has the
legal authority to execute an assignment of such rights, to
support (specified as support for the purpose of medical care
by a court or administrative order) and to payment for medical
care from any third party;
(B) to cooperate with the State (i) in establishing the
paternity of such person (referred to in subparagraph (A)) if
the person is a child born out of wedlock, and (ii) in
obtaining support and payments (described in subparagraph (A))
for himself and for such person, unless (in either case) the
individual is described in section 1396a(l)(1)(A) of this title
or the individual is found to have good cause for refusing to
cooperate as determined by the State agency in accordance with
standards prescribed by the Secretary, which standards shall
take into consideration the best interests of the individuals
involved; and
(C) to cooperate with the State in identifying, and providing
information to assist the State in pursuing, any third party
who may be liable to pay for care and services available under
the plan, unless such individual has good cause for refusing to
cooperate as determined by the State agency in accordance with
standards prescribed by the Secretary, which standards shall
take into consideration the best interests of the individuals
involved; and
(2) provide for entering into cooperative arrangements
(including financial arrangements), with any appropriate agency
of any State (including, with respect to the enforcement and
collection of rights of payment for medical care by or through a
parent, with a State's agency established or designated under
section 654(3) of this title) and with appropriate courts and law
enforcement officials, to assist the agency or agencies
administering the State plan with respect to (A) the enforcement
and collection of rights to support or payment assigned under
this section and (B) any other matters of common concern.
(b) Such part of any amount collected by the State under an
assignment made under the provisions of this section shall be
retained by the State as is necessary to reimburse it for medical
assistance payments made on behalf of an individual with respect to
whom such assignment was executed (with appropriate reimbursement
of the Federal Government to the extent of its participation in the
financing of such medical assistance), and the remainder of such
amount collected shall be paid to such individual.
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