130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
LD 461 LR 1220(01)
An Act To Allow the Reduction of a MaineCare Lien
Preliminary Fiscal Impact Statement for Original Bill
Sponsor: Rep. Cardone of Bangor
Committee: Judiciary
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
             
Preliminary Fiscal Impact Statement
FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23 Projections  FY 2023-24 Projections  FY 2024-25
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund $324,720 $324,000 $324,000 $324,000
Appropriations/Allocations
General Fund $324,720 $324,000 $324,000 $324,000
Federal Expenditures Fund $575,280 $576,000 $576,000 $576,000
Revenue
Federal Expenditures Fund $575,280 $576,000 $576,000 $576,000
Other Special Revenue Funds $324,720 $324,000 $324,000 $324,000
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The Department of Health and Human Services will require General Fund appropriations of $324,720 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $324,000 in fiscal year 2022-23 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 bill 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.