130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2021
Legislative Document No. 461
H.P. 337 House of Representatives, February 16, 2021
An Act To Allow the Reduction of a MaineCare Lien
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 11, 2021. Referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CARDONE of Bangor.
Printed on recycled paper
 1 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2 Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §14, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2007, c. 381, §1, is further
3 amended by amending the 2nd blocked paragraph to read:
4 The commissioner's right to recover the cost of benefits provided constitutes a statutory
5 lien on the proceeds of an award or settlement from a 3rd party if recovery for MaineCare
6 costs was or could have been included in the recipient's claim for damages from the 3rd
7 party to the extent of the recovery for medical expenses. The commissioner is entitled to
8 recover the cost of the benefits actually paid out when the commissioner has determined
9 that collection will be cost-effective to the extent that there are proceeds available for such
10 recovery after the deduction of reasonable attorney's fees and litigation costs from the gross
11 award or settlement from that portion of the award or settlement attributable to past medical
12 expenses paid by MaineCare after the pro rata deduction of reasonable attorney's fees and
13 litigation costs. In determining whether collection will be cost-effective, the commissioner
14 shall consider all factors that diminish potential recovery by the department, The portion
15 of the award or settlement attributable to past medical expenses paid by MaineCare must
16 be apportioned taking into consideration the full value of the recipient’s claim and the
17 fraction by which it has been reduced due to factors including but not limited to questions
18 of liability and comparative negligence or other legal defenses, exigencies of trial that
19 reduce a settlement or award in order to resolve the recipient's claim and limits on the
20 amount of applicable insurance coverage that reduce the claim to the amount recoverable
21 by the recipient. The department's statutory lien may not be reduced to reflect an
22 assessment of a pro rata share of the recipient's attorney's fees or litigation costs. If an
23 award is established by a court judgment, and the judgment allocates the portion of the
24 award attributable to past medical expenses, that allocation is binding. If the commissioner
25 and a recipient are unable to agree on an allocation of the amount of recovery attributable
26 to past medical expenses paid by MaineCare, either party may submit the matter to a court
27 for a determination of the allocation. The commissioner may, at the commissioner's
28 discretion, compromise, or otherwise settle and execute a release of, any claim or waive
29 any claim, in whole or in part, if the commissioner determines the collection will not be
30 cost-effective or that the best possible outcome requires compromise, release or settlement.
31 SUMMARY
32 This bill provides that MaineCare's lien applies to the portion of the award or settlement
33 attributable to past medical expenses paid by MaineCare. If the judgment of the court
34 allocates the portion of the award attributable to past medical expenses, that allocation is
35 binding. Otherwise, if the commissioner and the recipient cannot agree on the allocation,
36 either party may submit the matter to a court for the court to determine the allocation.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 461, HP 337: 22.14