Ark. Code Ann. » Title 20 Chapter 77
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-77-301 (2020)

Action by Department of Human Services

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    1. When medical assistance benefits are provided or will be provided to a medical assistance recipient because of injury, disease, disability, or death for which a third party is or may be liable, the appropriate division of the Department of Human Services may recover from the person the cost of benefits so provided.
    2. To enforce the right under subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the department may institute and prosecute legal proceedings against the third person who may be liable.
    1. An action taken on behalf of the division under this section or any judgment rendered in the action shall not be a bar to any action upon the claim or cause of action of the recipient, his or her guardian, personal representative, estate, or survivors against the third party who is or may be liable for the injury.
    2. An action under this section does not deny to the recipient the recovery for that portion of any damages not covered hereunder.
    1. The department may recover from a third party the cost of benefits for medical care provided to indigent persons from third persons, another program administered by the department, or a program administered through another department or agency of state government.
    2. The department shall remit to other departments or agencies of state government any amounts recovered, less its pro rata share and costs of collection, for care provided by them.
    1. In actions in tort hereunder, no contributory or comparative fault of a recipient shall be attributed to the state, nor shall any restitution awarded to the state be denied or reduced by any amount or percentage of fault attributed to a recipient.
    2. Notwithstanding subdivision (d)(1) of this section, if the recipient used a device, machine, or product after being warned, either verbally or in writing, that the use, misuse, or improper operation of the device, machine, or product was dangerous, risky, or could result in injury or harm to the recipient, then the statutory or common law defenses of contributory or comparative fault or negligence that could be asserted by the defendant against the recipient may also be asserted by the defendant in any action by the department or other agency of state government, and if the defenses are supported by the evidence, then recovery may be denied or reduced in the same manner as if the recipient were the plaintiff.

History. Acts 1979, No. 419, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 83-171; Acts 1992 (1st Ex. Sess.), No. 54, § 1; 1993, No. 1225, § 1; 2011, No. 625, § 1.

Amendments. The 2011 amendment substituted “disease, disability, or death for which a third party is or may be liable” for “disease, or disability, for which another person is liable” in (a)(1); in (a)(2), added “To enforce the right under subdivision (a)(1) of this section” at the beginning and deleted “to enforce the right” preceding “institute”; substituted “party who is or may be liable” for “person who may be liable” in (b)(1); subdivided part of (c); and, in (c)(1), substituted “may” for “shall likewise have the authority to”, inserted “from a third party”, and deleted “whether or not the case was provided pursuant to the Arkansas Health Care Access Program” following “third persons”.

Research References

Ark. L. Rev.

Comment, Is the Made-Whole Requirement More Than We Bargained For?: From Franklin to Tallant--A Call to Reexamine the Made-Whole Doctrine in Arkansas, 60 Ark. L. Rev. 295.

An Accident Waiting to Happen: Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services v. Ahlborn Exposes Inequities in Medical Benefits Legislation, 60 Ark. L. Rev. 533.

Case Notes

In General.

This section simply gives the Department of Human Services the right to recover from third parties and provides that the department may enforce those rights by legal proceedings. Jones v. Balay, 810 F. Supp. 1031 (W.D. Ark. 1992).

This section gives the Department of Human Services the right to collect what it has paid to a recipient from responsible third parties and, in turn, gives the recipient the right to recover for damages suffered which are not compensated through Medicaid payments. Jones v. Balay, 810 F. Supp. 1031 (W.D. Ark. 1992).

The Department of Human Services is not subject to traditional common-law principles of subrogation when it seeks reimbursement for medical benefits under §§ 20-77-301 et seq. and 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(25). Ark. Dep't of Human Servs. v. Estate of Ferrel, 336 Ark. 297, 984 S.W.2d 807 (1999), overruled in part, Ark. Dep't of Health & Human Servs. v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268, 126 S. Ct. 1752, 164 L. Ed. 2d 459 (2006).

Cited: In re Estate of Morgan, 310 Ark. 220, 833 S.W.2d 776 (1992); National Bank of Commerce v. Quirk, 323 Ark. 769, 918 S.W.2d 138 (1996); Ark. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs. v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268, 126 S. Ct. 1752, 164 L. Ed. 2d 459 (2006).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases, 1992–2012 · leading case: Nat'l Bank of Com. v. Quirk, 918 S.W.2d 138 (Ark. 1996).
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Nat'l Bank of Com. v. Quirk, 918 S.W.2d 138 (Ark. 1996). · cites it 4× “The complaint further asserted that Ark. Code Ann. § 20-77-301 et seq. imposes such an assignment as a matter of law and creates an absolute lien in favor of ADHS.”
Arkansas Dep't of Health & Human Servs. v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268 (2006). “Ark. Code Ann. §§20-77-301 through 20-77-309 (2001).”
Andrews ex rel. Andrews v. Haygood, 655 S.E.2d 440 (N.C. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “]” Ark. Code Ann. § 20-77-301 (a) (2005). Further, “any settlement, judgment, or award obtained [by the individual] is subject to the division’s claim for reimbursement of the benefits provided to the recipient under the medical assistance program.”
Jones v. Balay, 810 F. Supp. 1031 (W.D. Ark. 1992). · cites it 10× “Ark.Code Ann. § 20-77-301 et seq. contain the provisions of Arkansas law enacted by the State of Arkansas pursuant to the mandate of federal law.”
In re The Est. of Morgan, 833 S.W.2d 776 (Ark. 1992). · cites it 4× “In May 1991, the Arkansas Department of Human Services, Third Party Liability Unit, filed a petition asserting a claim against Morgan’s estate pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 20-77-301 et seq. (1987) for reimbursement of medicaid expenses paid in the amount of $33,932.”
Gen. Accident Ins. Co. of Am. v. Jaynes, 33 S.W.3d 161 (Ark. 2000). · cites it 2× “It submits that, in Ferrel, the trial court erroneously relied on Franklin, Hke the circuit court here, when it denied the Department of Human Services (“DHS”) its statutory Hen provided under Ark. Code Ann. § 20-77-301 to -313 (Repl.”
In re E.B., 729 S.E.2d 270 (W. Va. 2012). “(quoting Ark.Code Ann. § 20-77-301(a)). In its opinion, the United States Supreme Court noted that “[t]he State, through this statute, claims an entitlement to more than just that portion of a judgment or settlement that represents payment for medical expenses.”
Arkansas Dep't of Human Servs. v. Est. of Ferrel, 984 S.W.2d 807 (Ark. 1999). · cites it 2× “Ark. Code Ann. § 20-77-301 (a). The Hen itself allows ADHS to pursue the third party should it be necessary.”
Ahlborn v. Arkansas Dep't of Human Servs., 280 F. Supp. 2d 881 (E.D. Ark. 2003). · cites it 2× “Arkansas’ Medicaid plan, which the Secretary approved as consistent with the federal statute and implementing regulations, is codified at Ark.Code Ann. § 20-77-301 et seq. *884 Federal law requires that participating states include in their Medicaid plan the requirement that…”
Andrews ex rel. Andrews v. Haygood, 655 S.E.2d 440 (N.C. Ct. App. 2008). “]" Ark.Code Ann. § 20-77-301(a) (2005). Further, "any settlement, judgment, or award obtained [by the individual] is subject to the division's claim for reimbursement of the benefits provided to the recipient under the medical assistance program.”
Ark. Code Ann. § 20-77-301(a): 3 cases
In re E.B., 729 S.E.2d 270 (W. Va. 2012). “(quoting Ark.Code Ann. § 20-77-301(a)). In its opinion, the United States Supreme Court noted that “[t]he State, through this statute, claims an entitlement to more than just that portion of a judgment or settlement that represents payment for medical expenses.”
Andrews ex rel. Andrews v. Haygood, 655 S.E.2d 440 (N.C. Ct. App. 2008). “]” Ark. Code Ann. § 20-77-301 (a) (2005). Further, “any settlement, judgment, or award obtained [by the individual] is subject to the division’s claim for reimbursement of the benefits provided to the recipient under the medical assistance program.”
Andrews ex rel. Andrews v. Haygood, 655 S.E.2d 440 (N.C. Ct. App. 2008). “]" Ark.Code Ann. § 20-77-301(a) (2005). Further, "any settlement, judgment, or award obtained [by the individual] is subject to the division's claim for reimbursement of the benefits provided to the recipient under the medical assistance program.”
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