Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §14, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1997, c. 795, §1, is further amended to read:

1. Recovery procedures. When benefits are provided or will be provided to a beneficiary under the Medicaid program administered by the department pursuant to the United States Social Security Act, Title XIX, or under the Maine Health Program, section 3189, for the medical costs of injury, disease, disability or similar occurrence for which a 3rd party is, or may be, liable, the commissioner may recover from that party the reasonable value of the benefits provided. This right of recovery is separate and independent from any rights or causes of action belonging to a beneficiary under the Medicaid program or under the Maine Health Program. For Medicaid recipients who participated in the Medicaid managed care program, "reasonable value" means the total value of coverable medical services provided measured by the amount that Medicaid would have paid to providers directly for such services, were it not for the managed care system. The Medicaid program and Maine Health Program are the payors of last resort and should provide medical coverage only when there are no other available resources. The Attorney General, or counsel appointed by the Attorney General, may, to enforce this right, institute and prosecute legal proceedings directly against the 3rd party in the appropriate court in the name of the commissioner.

In addition to the right of recovery set forth in this subsection, the commissioner must also be subrogated, to the extent of any benefits provided under the Medicaid program or under the Maine Health Program, to any cause of action or claim that a beneficiary has against a 3rd party who is or may be liable for medical costs incurred by or on behalf of the beneficiary. The Attorney General, or counsel appointed by the Attorney General, to enforce this right may institute and prosecute legal proceedings in the name of the injured person, beneficiary, guardian, personal representative, estate or survivor. If necessary to enforce the commissioner's right of recovery, the Attorney General, or counsel appointed by the Attorney General, may institute legal proceedings against any beneficiary who has received a settlement or award from a 3rd party.

The commissioner's right to recover the reasonable value of benefits provided constitutes a statutory lien on the proceeds of an award or settlement from a 3rd party, whether that award or settlement is or is not intended to include compensation for medical costs if recovery for Medicaid costs was or could have been included in the recipient's claim for damages from the 3rd