Assignment of benefits; collection of medical support and payments--Health Care Financing Administration. Final regulations.

These regulations authorize States to require Medicaid applicants and recipients, as a condition of eligibility, to assign to the State their rights to medical support or other third party payments for medical care. Under these regulations, State Medicaid agencies can make agreements with other agencies (including State child support enforcement agencies) for assistance in collecting on third party liability. State agencies must make incentive payments to other States or political entities that collect medical support and payments. These incentive payments are taken from the Federal share of the collection. The regulations also prohibit Federal sharing in payments for medical assistance that would be covered by a private health insurance policy if that policy did not exclude services covered by Medicaid. The regulation implements section 11 of the Medicare-Medicaid Anti-Fraud and Abuse Amendments of 1979 (Pub. L. 95--142). The intent is to conserve Federal and State Medicaid funds by ensuring maximum use of available third party resources.