Alert

Status of Medi-Cal Estate Recovery Regulations   (June 12, 2006)

CANHR's submitted comments on R-14-04 are also available (pdf).

Three Regulation Packages

The CANHR v. Bonta settlement agreement requires three sets of regulations:

a) The Annuity regulations - which were adopted January 3, 2005, and which permits recovery from annuities purchased on or after September 1, 2004.

b) The Comprehensive regulations (R-32-00 (pdf)) - which were filed and effective as of May 10, 2006.

c) The Disability regulations, (R-14-04 (pdf)) A copy of the public notice, the statement of reasons, the proposed language and forms will be posted on the DHS, Office of Regulation web site on June 16, 2006 and on CANHR's web site shortly thereafter. Please don't forget to send in your comments in a timely basis and/or to appear at the public hearing on August 2, 2006. (See also CANHR's comments (pdf).

Elimination of recovery from irrevocable life estates and occupancy agreements

Although the proposed regulations (R-14-04 (pdf)) do include the proof of disability criteria, they also amend Section 50961(i) of the comprehensive regulations to eliminate the entire first section relating to recovery from life estates with an irrevocable transfer and also eliminate the valuing of such life estates using the CMS tables. The Department of Health Services recently released the following statement regarding recovery against life estates and enforcement of the May 10, 2006 regulations:

"After the filing of R-32-00 (pdf) with the Office of Administrative Law, the Department of Health Services (Department) continued to review and analyze the numerous public comments that had been received during the second public comment period for the package. As a result of that analysis, a policy decision was made to amend a portion of R-32-00 through regulations package R-14-04. The amendment will result in the removal of recovery efforts against the value of life estate only interests. The Department has now determined that during the short period of time in which R-32-00 as currently enacted will be in effect, it will not be cost effective for the Department to initiate or pursue recovery against life estate only interests. This decision is based on balancing the anticipated small dollar value associated with recovery for the few months R-32-00 would be in effect prior to the filing of R-14-04, against information obtained from advocates that the legality of life estate only interest recoveries would be challenged in the courts."