129th MAINE LEGISLATURE
LD 194 LR 1500(03)
An Act To Allow the Reduction of a MaineCare Lien
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
Committee: Judiciary
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
             
Fiscal Note
FY 2019-20 FY 2020-21 Projections  FY 2021-22 Projections  FY 2022-23
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund $0 $544,200 $544,650 $544,650
Appropriations/Allocations
General Fund $0 $544,200 $544,650 $544,650
Federal Expenditures Fund $0 $955,800 $955,350 $955,350
Revenue
Federal Expenditures Fund $0 $955,800 $955,350 $955,350
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The bill includes General Fund appropriations to the Department of Health and Human Services of $544,200 in fiscal year 2020-21 due to the elimination of the prohibition on reducing the statutory lien to reflect an assessment of the recipient's attorney's fees or litigation costs. Federal Expenditures Fund allocations are also included for the FMAP match.

The amendment also changes statute to state that the MaineCare lien can only apply to the portion of the award or settlement that is attributable to medical expenses paid by MaineCare. This limitation is already the law based on two Supreme Court decisions, Arkansas v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268 (2006) and Wos v. E.M.A, 568 U.S. 627 (2013), so there is no fiscal impact associated with this change.