Full Text of SB0047 98th General Assembly
SB0047 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014 SB0047 Introduced 1/16/2013, by Sen. Michael W. Frerichs SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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305 ILCS 5/11-22 | from Ch. 23, par. 11-22 |
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Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. In regard to a claim, demand, or cause of action for injuries to an applicant for or recipient of certain financial aid and health care benefits programs, including the Covering ALL KIDS Health Insurance program and the Veterans' Health Insurance Program, provides that notice shall be served by certified mail or
registered mail, or by facsimile or electronic messaging (rather than by certified mail or
registered mail), upon the party or parties against whom the applicant or
recipient has a claim, demand, or cause of action. Effective immediately.
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| | | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning public aid.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 11-22 as follows:
| 6 | | (305 ILCS 5/11-22) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-22)
| 7 | | Sec. 11-22. Charge upon claims and causes of action for | 8 | | injuries. The Illinois Department shall have a charge upon all | 9 | | claims, demands and
causes of action for injuries to an | 10 | | applicant for or recipient of (i)
financial aid under Articles | 11 | | III, IV, and V, (ii) health care benefits provided under the | 12 | | Covering ALL KIDS Health Insurance Act, or (iii) health care | 13 | | benefits provided under the Veterans' Health Insurance Program | 14 | | Act or the Veterans' Health Insurance Program Act of 2008 for | 15 | | the total
amount of
medical assistance provided the recipient | 16 | | from the time of injury to the
date of recovery upon such | 17 | | claim, demand or cause of action. In addition, if
the applicant | 18 | | or recipient was employable, as defined by the Department, at
| 19 | | the time of the injury, the Department shall also have a charge | 20 | | upon any
such claims, demands and causes of action for the | 21 | | total amount of aid
provided to the recipient and his
| 22 | | dependents, including all cash assistance and medical | 23 | | assistance
only to the extent includable in the claimant's |
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| 1 | | action, from the
time of injury to the date of recovery upon | 2 | | such
claim, demand or cause of action. Any definition of | 3 | | "employable"
adopted by the Department shall apply only to | 4 | | persons above the age of
compulsory school attendance.
| 5 | | If the injured person was employable at the time of the | 6 | | injury and is
provided aid under Articles III, IV, or V and any | 7 | | dependent or
member of his family is provided aid under Article | 8 | | VI, or vice versa,
both the Illinois Department and the local | 9 | | governmental unit shall have
a charge upon such claims, demands | 10 | | and causes of action for the aid
provided to the injured person | 11 | | and any
dependent member of his family, including all cash | 12 | | assistance, medical
assistance and food stamps, from the time | 13 | | of the injury to the date
of recovery.
| 14 | | "Recipient", as used herein, means (i) in the case of | 15 | | financial aid provided under this Code, the grantee of record | 16 | | and any
persons whose needs are included in the financial aid | 17 | | provided to the
grantee of record or otherwise met by grants | 18 | | under the appropriate
Article of this Code for which such | 19 | | person is eligible, (ii) in the case of health care benefits | 20 | | provided under the Covering ALL KIDS Health Insurance Act, the | 21 | | child to whom those benefits are provided, and (iii) in the | 22 | | case of health care benefits provided under the Veterans' | 23 | | Health Insurance Program Act or the Veterans' Health Insurance | 24 | | Program Act of 2008, the veteran to whom benefits are provided.
| 25 | | In each case, the notice shall be served by certified mail | 26 | | or
registered mail, or by facsimile or electronic messaging, |
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| 1 | | upon the party or parties against whom the applicant or
| 2 | | recipient has a claim, demand or cause of action. The notice | 3 | | shall
claim the charge and describe the interest the Illinois | 4 | | Department, the
local governmental unit, or the county, has in | 5 | | the claim, demand, or
cause of action. The charge shall attach | 6 | | to any verdict or judgment
entered and to any money or property | 7 | | which may be recovered on account
of such claim, demand, cause | 8 | | of action or suit from and after the time
of the service of the | 9 | | notice.
| 10 | | On petition filed by the Illinois Department, or by the | 11 | | local
governmental unit or county if either is claiming a | 12 | | charge, or by the
recipient, or by the defendant, the court, on | 13 | | written notice to all
interested parties, may adjudicate the | 14 | | rights of the parties and enforce
the charge. The court may | 15 | | approve the settlement of any claim, demand
or cause of action | 16 | | either before or after a verdict, and nothing in this
Section | 17 | | shall be construed as requiring the actual trial or final
| 18 | | adjudication of any claim, demand or cause of action upon which | 19 | | the
Illinois Department, the local governmental unit or county | 20 | | has charge.
The court may determine what portion of the | 21 | | recovery shall be paid to
the injured person and what portion | 22 | | shall be paid to the Illinois
Department, the local | 23 | | governmental unit or county having a charge
against the | 24 | | recovery.
In making this determination, the court shall conduct | 25 | | an evidentiary hearing
and shall consider competent evidence | 26 | | pertaining
to the following matters:
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| 1 | | (1) the amount of the charge sought to be enforced | 2 | | against the recovery
when expressed as a percentage of the | 3 | | gross amount of the recovery; the
amount of the charge | 4 | | sought to be enforced against the recovery when expressed
| 5 | | as a percentage of the amount obtained by subtracting from | 6 | | the gross amount
of the recovery the total attorney's fees | 7 | | and other costs incurred by the
recipient incident to the | 8 | | recovery; and whether the Department, unit of
local | 9 | | government or county seeking to enforce the charge against | 10 | | the recovery
should as a matter of fairness and equity bear | 11 | | its proportionate share of
the fees and costs incurred to | 12 | | generate the recovery from which the charge
is sought to be | 13 | | satisfied;
| 14 | | (2) the amount, if any, of the attorney's fees and | 15 | | other costs incurred
by the recipient incident to the | 16 | | recovery and paid by the recipient up to the
time of | 17 | | recovery, and the amount of such fees and costs remaining | 18 | | unpaid
at the time of recovery;
| 19 | | (3) the total hospital, doctor and other medical | 20 | | expenses incurred for
care and treatment of the injury to | 21 | | the date of recovery therefor, the portion
of such expenses | 22 | | theretofore paid by the recipient, by insurance provided
by | 23 | | the recipient, and by the Department, unit of local | 24 | | government and county
seeking to enforce a charge against | 25 | | the recovery, and the amount of such
previously incurred | 26 | | expenses which remain unpaid at the time of recovery
and by |
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| 1 | | whom such incurred, unpaid expenses are to be paid;
| 2 | | (4) whether the recovery represents less than | 3 | | substantially full
recompense
for the injury and the | 4 | | hospital, doctor and other medical expenses incurred
to the | 5 | | date of recovery for the care and treatment of the injury, | 6 | | so that
reduction of the charge sought to be enforced | 7 | | against the recovery would
not likely result in a double | 8 | | recovery or unjust enrichment to the recipient;
| 9 | | (5) the age of the recipient and of persons dependent | 10 | | for support upon
the recipient, the nature and permanency | 11 | | of the recipient's injuries as
they affect not only the | 12 | | future employability and education of the recipient
but | 13 | | also the reasonably necessary and foreseeable future | 14 | | material, maintenance,
medical, rehabilitative and | 15 | | training needs of the recipient, the cost of
such | 16 | | reasonably necessary and foreseeable future needs, and the | 17 | | resources
available to meet such needs and pay such costs;
| 18 | | (6) the realistic ability of the recipient to repay in | 19 | | whole or in part
the charge sought to be enforced against | 20 | | the recovery when judged in light
of the factors enumerated | 21 | | above.
| 22 | | The burden of producing evidence sufficient to support the | 23 | | exercise by
the court of its discretion to reduce the amount of | 24 | | a proven charge sought
to be enforced against the recovery | 25 | | shall rest with the party seeking such reduction.
| 26 | | The court may reduce and apportion the Illinois
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| 1 | | Department's lien proportionate to the recovery of the | 2 | | claimant. The court may
consider the nature and extent of the | 3 | | injury, economic and noneconomic
loss, settlement offers, | 4 | | comparative negligence as it applies to the case
at hand, | 5 | | hospital costs, physician costs, and all other appropriate | 6 | | costs.
The Illinois Department shall pay its pro rata share of | 7 | | the attorney fees
based on the Illinois Department's lien as it | 8 | | compares to the total
settlement agreed upon. This Section | 9 | | shall not affect the priority of an
attorney's lien under the | 10 | | Attorneys Lien Act. The charges of
the Illinois Department | 11 | | described in this Section, however, shall take
priority over | 12 | | all other liens and charges existing under the laws of the
| 13 | | State of Illinois with the exception of the attorney's lien | 14 | | under said statute.
| 15 | | Whenever the Department or any unit of local government
has | 16 | | a statutory charge under this Section against a recovery for | 17 | | damages
incurred by a recipient because of its advancement of | 18 | | any assistance, such
charge shall not be satisfied out of any | 19 | | recovery until the attorney's claim
for fees is satisfied, | 20 | | irrespective of whether or not an action based on
recipient's | 21 | | claim has been filed in court.
| 22 | | This Section shall be inapplicable to any claim, demand or | 23 | | cause of
action arising under (a) the Workers' Compensation Act | 24 | | or the predecessor
Workers' Compensation Act
of
June 28, 1913, | 25 | | (b) the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act or the predecessor
| 26 | | Workers' Occupational
Diseases Act of March 16, 1936; and (c) |
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| 1 | | the Wrongful Death Act.
| 2 | | (Source: P.A. 94-693, eff. 7-1-06; 94-816, eff. 5-30-06; | 3 | | 95-755, eff. 7-25-08.)
| 4 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 5 | | becoming law.
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