5111.111 Lien against property of recipient or spouse as part of estate recovery program. - Ohio Statutes

5111.111 Lien against property of recipient or spouse as part of estate recovery program.

(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section and section 5111.12 of the Revised Code, no lien may be imposed against the property of an individual before the individual’s death on account of medicaid services correctly paid or to be paid on the individual’s behalf.

(B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the department of job and family services may impose a lien against the real property of a medicaid recipient who is a permanently institutionalized individual and against the real property of the recipient’s spouse, including any real property that is jointly held by the recipient and spouse. The lien may be imposed on account of medicaid paid or to be paid on the recipient’s behalf.

(C) No lien may be imposed under division (B) of this section against the home of a medicaid recipient if any of the following lawfully resides in the home:

(1) The recipient’s spouse;

(2) The recipient’s son or daughter who is under twenty-one years of age or, under 42 U.S.C. 1382c, considered to be blind or disabled;

(3) The recipient’s sibling who has an equity interest in the home and resided in the home for at least one year immediately before the date of the recipient’s admission to the institution.

(D) The director of job and family services or a person designated by the director shall sign a certificate to effectuate a lien required to be imposed under this section. The county department of job and family services shall file for recording and indexing the certificate, or a certified copy, in the real estate mortgage records in the office of the county recorder in every county in which real property of the recipient or spouse is situated. From the time of filing the certificate in the office of the county recorder, the lien attaches to all real property of the recipient or spouse described in the certificate for all amounts for which adjustment or recovery may be made under section 5111.11 of the Revised Code and, except as provided in division (E) of this section, shall remain a lien until satisfied.

Upon filing the certificate in the office of the recorder, all persons are charged with notice of the lien and the rights of the department of job and family services thereunder.

The county recorder shall keep a record of every certificate filed showing its date, the time of filing, the name and residence of the recipient or spouse, and any release, waivers, or satisfaction of the lien.

The priority of the lien shall be established in accordance with state and federal law.

The department may waive the priority of its lien to provide for the costs of the last illness as determined by the department, administration, attorney fees, administrator fees, a sum for the payment of the costs of burial, which shall be computed by deducting from five hundred dollars whatever amount is available for the same purpose from all other sources, and a similar sum for the spouse of the decedent.

(E) A lien imposed with respect to a medicaid recipient under this section shall dissolve on the recipient’s discharge from the institution and return home.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003; 06-30-2005