§ 22 §1714-A — Debts owed the department by providers

1.
Definitions.
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
2.
Establishment of debt.
A debt is established by the department when it notifies a provider of debt that the provider owes the department pursuant to a decision and order that constitutes final agency action. A debt is collectible by the department 31 days after exhaustion of all administrative appeals and any judicial review available under Title 5, chapter 375.
3.
Notice of debt.
Any notice of debt issued to a provider by the department must include the following:
4.
Successor liability.
Liability of transferees is governed by this subsection.
5.
Department may offset.
The department may offset against current reimbursement owed to a provider or any entity related by ownership or control to that provider any debt it is owed by that provider after the debt becomes collectible. The department shall adopt rules that implement this subsection and define the ownership or control relationships that are subject to an offset under this subsection, except that the department may not define any ownership or control relationship as subject to an offset unless the relationship allows the person whose relationship is the subject of the offset to control at least the number of votes of the provider's governing body or management that is needed to govern the operations of the provider. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
6.
Liens.
Collection by lien is as follows.
7.
Other collection actions.
In addition to the other remedies provided in this section, the department may seek collection of any debt established under subsection 2 pursuant to Title 14, chapter 502, Title 36, chapter 7 and Title 36, section 185‑A.
8.
Rulemaking.
The department may adopt or amend any rule as necessary to implement this section.
9.
Cost-of-care overpayments.
On or before June 30, 2015, the department shall collect the total amount of debt arising from cost-of-care overpayments that exceeds by $4,000,000 the amount of that debt that had been budgeted for fiscal year 2014-15 as of April 15, 2014. To the extent necessary to meet this requirement, the department may establish payment terms, modify as otherwise permitted by law existing payment agreements to accelerate payment terms and offset current payments in accordance with subsection 5. If 7 days' notice and opportunity to comment are provided, the department may adopt rules on an emergency basis to modify its implementation of subsection 5 on an emergency basis for purposes of collecting cost-of-care overpayments without making the emergency findings otherwise required by Title 5, section 8054, subsection 2.
10.
No imposition of liability on other persons.
The department may not by any means, including without limitation any rule or any contract or agreement with a provider, impose liability for a debt under this section on any person other than the provider notified of the debt pursuant to subsection 2 or a person subject to collection by offset pursuant to rules adopted under subsection 5. This subsection does not prohibit the department from seeking recovery of civil penalties from any person as provided in section 15.

Legislative History

PL 1991, c. 9, §G4 (NEW). PL 1991, c. 568, §§1-4 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 596, §§B3,4 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 596, §B25 (AFF). PL 2003, c. 419, §§4,5 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 673, §YYY1 (AMD). RR 2007, c. 2, §8 (COR). PL 2007, c. 466, Pt. A, §42 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. OO, §1 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 542, Pt. A, §27 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 687, §§5-8 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 594, §2 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 442, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 659, Pt. D, §5 (AMD).