BILL NUMBER: S4888A
SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law and the civil practice law and
rules, in relation to recovery of overpayment of certain assistance; and
to repeal certain provisions of the social services law related thereto
 
PURPOSE:
Relates to recovery of overpayment of certain assistance
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivisions 1,2,3 and 4 of Section 104 of the Social
Services Law as it relates to overpayment of assistance. For the purpose
of the section, new subsections (a) and (b) have been added to define
the terms "overpayment" and "recipient". Other subdivisions in this
section have been added and amended to provide language that prohibits
actions or judgements being brought to an individual if overpayments
were made due to an agency or contractor error, as well as provides
protections to individuals who received public assistance during COVID-
19. This section also puts regulations on the interest imposed as part
of the judgment as well as excluding subdivisions five, eight, ten,
thirteen, and fourteen from applying to any case that involves fraud.
Section 2 repeals Subdivision 7 of Section 158 of the Social Services
Law.
Section 3 adds a new Section 3012-c to the Civil Practice Law as it
relates to overpayment of assistance actions. This section will require
an overpayment complaint to be accompanied by a certificate to be signed
by the attorney for the public welfare official.
Section 4 amends Section 3202 of the Civil Practice Law by deeming
confession of judgment recovery of overpayment of certain assistance as
invalid.
Section 5 adds a new section 213-e to the Civil Practice Law which
provides language that any actions to recover certain overpayments must
take place within two years from the payment.
Section 6 amends Section 106-b of the Social Services Law as it relates
to overpayment assistance. For the purpose of this section, a new subdi-
vision 1 has been added to define the terms "overpayment" and "recipi-
ent". This section also provides language that prohibits a social
service official from bringing overpayment actions or proceedings to an
individual if the error was made due to an agency or contractor error or
if the recipient is under twenty-one years of age. This section also
provides language that waives cases due to hardship, and requires social
services officials to follow proper procedures in order to recover over-
payments or make settlement agreements. Specific subdivisions of this
section shall not apply to any case that involves fraud.
Section 6-a was added to provide provisions for waivers.
Section 6-b was added to provide severability clause
Section 7 provides the effective date
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This act will simplify the Public Assistance and Medicaid overpayment
recovery and collections process in New York and provide much needed due
process and consumer protections for benefits recipients. Overpayment
recoveries are intended to allow the State to recover for benefits that
were received by individuals and families when they were not eligible
for those benefits. However, the current overpayment recovery process in
New York is deeply flawed.
In many cases, beneficiaries who are subject to overpayments were actu-
ally eligible for all or part of their alleged overpayment time period
or were approved for benefits in error through no fault of their own.
Often, budgeting rules and protections are misapplied in determining
liability, claims are not properly calculated or validated, and benefi-
ciaries are not given the opportunity to challenge the claims against
them and to prove eligibility. The stakes for beneficiaries facing an
overpayment are high: most overpayments are in the thousands of dollars
and many in the tens of thousands. Still, due to the lack of protections
for beneficiaries in this process, individuals frequently are pressured
into signing settlement agreements for which they are not liable or that
they cannot afford. Others are sued and many people are subject to
default judgments, even in cases with little or no proof that a debt is
owed. For many of these beneficiaries, an overpayment debt may push
them and their family back into poverty just when they were getting on
their feet or the debt may permanently trap them in poverty and threaten
their wellbeing.
Those that are the most impacted by the current process include immi-
grants, those with limited English proficiency, and the working poor.
Other states which recover benefits overpayments from recipients have
more robust due process protections and procedures for beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries in New York should have equally robust protections. This
Act will not hinder a public welfare official's ability to recover bene-
fits incorrectly received, but instead will ensure that any action or
proceeding to recover Public Assistance and Medicaid overpayments are
valid and vetted and that beneficiaries receive proper protections,
including ensuring that any overpayment debt ultimately imposed will not
threaten a beneficiary's and their family's ability to survive.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: S4540/A5613 Gottfried
2023: S4888
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law and shall apply to any claim, matter, or admin-
istrative or legal action or proceeding pending at or after that time.

Statutes affected:
S4888: 158 social services law, 158(7) social services law, 106-b social services law
S4888A: 158 social services law, 158(7) social services law, 106-b social services law