A. The income support division of the department shall make reasonable efforts to ascertain any legal liability of third parties who are or may be liable to pay all or part of the medical cost of injury, disease or disability of an applicant for or recipient of medical assistance pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 27 NMSA 1978.

B. When the department makes medical assistance payments on behalf of a recipient, the department is subrogated to any right of the recipient against a third party for recovery of medical expenses to the extent that the department has made payment.

C. Health insurers, including self-insured plans, group health plans, service benefit plans, managed care organizations, pharmacy benefit managers or other parties, that are, by statute, contract or agreement, legally responsible for payment of a claim for a health care item or service, as a condition of doing business with New Mexico, shall:

(1) provide, with respect to individuals who are eligible for or are provided medical assistance under the medicaid program, upon the request of the state, information to determine during what period the individual, the individual's spouse or the individual's dependents may be, or may have been, covered by a health insurer and the nature of the coverage provided by the health insurer, including the name, address and identifying number of the plan;

(2) accept New Mexico's right of recovery and the assignment to New Mexico of any right of an individual or other entity to payment from the party for an item or service for which payment has been made under the medicaid program;

(3) respond to any inquiry by New Mexico regarding a claim for payment for any health care item or service that is submitted no later than three years after the date of the provision of such health care item or service; and

(4) agree not to deny a claim submitted by New Mexico solely on the basis of the date of submission of the claim by the provider, the type of the claim form or a failure to present proper documentation at the point-of-sale that is the basis of the claim, if:

(a) the claim is submitted by New Mexico within the three-year period beginning on the date on which the item or service was furnished; and

(b) any action by New Mexico to enforce its rights with respect to such claim is commenced within six years of New Mexico's submission of such claim.

D. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the application of common law principles in determining equitable reimbursement from any third-party source for New Mexico or a health insurer, including self-insured plans, group health plans, service benefit plans, managed care organizations, pharmacy benefit managers or other parties.

History: 1953 Comp., § 13-1-20.1, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 232, § 1; 2007, ch. 246, § 1.

Cross references. — For medical assistance programs generally, see 27-2-12 NMSA 1978.

For liability for repayment of public assistance, see 27-2-28 NMSA 1978.

The 2007 amendment, effective June 15, 2007, added Subsections C and D.

Department's subrogation is right of recovery subject to equitable principles. White v. Sutherland, 1978-NMCA-076, 92 N.M. 187, 585 P.2d 331, cert. denied, 92 N.M. 79, 582 P.2d 1292.

Circumstances held not to justify complete reimbursement. — Although this section shows an intent that medical assistance payments be repaid, it says nothing as to 100 percent repayment regardless of the facts. Where the settlement proceeds in a medical malpractice suit would constitute but a small fraction of a medical assistance recipient's actual damages and any money which the department might recover would be due to a very large extent to the energies expended in pursuing the malpractice claim by the recipient and her attorneys, who were charging a contingent fee of 25 percent of the recovery, the department was not equitably entitled to complete reimbursement for its payments to the recipient. White v. Sutherland, 1978-NMCA-076, 92 N.M. 187, 585 P.2d 331, cert. denied, 92 N.M. 79, 582 P.2d 1292.

Equitable reduction. — Subsection G of Section 27-2-28 NMSA 1978, providing for assignment to the department of a recipient's right to recovery against a tortfeasor, as reconciled with this section and federal law, does not convey the right to full reimbursement in every case, but permits an equitable reduction. Kahrs v. Sanchez, 1998-NMCA-037, 125 N.M. 1, 956 P.2d 132, cert. denied, 124 N.M. 589, 953 P.2d 1087.