31-3504. APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. (1) Except as provided for in section 31-3503E, Idaho Code, an applicant or third party applicant requesting assistance under this chapter shall complete a written application. The truth of the matters contained in the completed application shall be sworn to by the applicant or third party applicant. The completed application shall be deemed consent for the providers, the hospital, the department, respective counties and board to exchange information pertaining to the applicant’s health and finances for the purposes of determining medicaid eligibility or medical indigency. The completed application shall be signed by the applicant or third party applicant, an authorized representative of the applicant, or, if the applicant is incompetent or incapacitated, someone acting responsibly for the applicant and filed in the clerk’s office. If the clerk determines that the patient may be eligible for medicaid, within one (1) business day of the filing of the completed application in the clerk’s office, the clerk shall transmit a copy of the application and a written request for medicaid eligibility determination to the department.

(a) If, based on its medicaid eligibility review, the department determines that the patient is eligible for medicaid, the department shall act on the application as an application for medicaid.

(b) If, based on its medicaid eligibility review, the department determines that the patient is not eligible for medicaid, the department shall notify the clerk of the denial and the reason therefor, in accordance with section 31-3503E, Idaho Code. Denial of medicaid eligibility is not a determination of medical indigence.

(2) If a third party completed application is filed, the application shall be presented in the same form and manner as set forth in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Follow-up necessary medical services based on a treatment plan, for the same condition, preapproved by the county commissioners, may be provided for a maximum of six (6) months from the date of the original application without requiring an additional application; however, a request for additional treatment not specified in the approved treatment plan shall be filed with the clerk ten (10) days prior to receiving services. Beyond the six (6) months, requests for additional treatment related to an original diagnosis in accordance with a preapproved treatment plan shall be filed ten (10) days prior to receiving services and an updated application may be requested by the county commissioners.

(4) Upon application for financial assistance pursuant to this chapter an automatic lien shall attach to all real and personal property of the applicant and on insurance benefits to which the applicant may become entitled. The lien shall also attach to any additional resources to which it may legally attach not covered in this section. The lien created by this section may be, in the discretion of the county commissioners and the board, perfected as to real property and fixtures by recording a document entitled: notice of lien and application for financial assistance, in any county recorder’s office in this state in which the applicant and obligated person own property. The notice of lien and application for financial assistance shall be recorded as provided herein within thirty (30) days from receipt of an application, and such lien, if so recorded, shall have a priority date as of the date the necessary medical services were provided. The lien created by this section may also be, in the discretion of the county commissioners and the board, perfected as to personal property by filing with the secretary of state within thirty (30) days of receipt of an application, a notice of application in substantially the same manner as a filing under chapter 9, title 28, Idaho Code, except that such notice need not be signed and no fee shall be required, and, if so filed, such lien shall have the priority date as of the date the necessary medical services were provided. An application for assistance pursuant to this chapter shall waive any confidentiality granted by state law to the extent necessary to carry out the intent of this section.

(5) In accordance with rules and procedures promulgated by the department or the board, each hospital and provider seeking reimbursement under this chapter shall submit all medical records and medical claims relevant to necessary medical services provided for an applicant in a standard or uniform format to the county clerk of the obligated county within ten (10) days after receiving a request from the county clerk; provided that, within the ten (10) day period if a provider presents a written request for suspension of the investigation, the investigation of the application shall be suspended for up to thirty (30) days. Upon receipt of the requested documentation, the investigation shall resume. A copy of the results of the reviewed medical records and medical claims shall be transmitted by the department’s or the board’s contractor to the clerk of the obligated county. Failure to provide the medical records and medical claims within the initial ten (10) day period and the suspension period, if any, shall result in denial of the application.

History:

[31-3504, added 1996, ch. 410, sec. 7, p. 1362; am. 1997, ch. 92, sec. 1, p. 218; am. 2000, ch. 317, sec. 2, p. 1070; am. 2009, ch. 177, sec. 8, p. 566; am. 2010, ch. 273, sec. 7, p. 697; am. 2011, ch. 291, sec. 8, p. 801; am. 2013, ch. 279, sec. 3, p. 725.]