1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; expanding the access to 
  1.3             data by the commissioner to include public safety, 
  1.4             workers' compensation, and revenue data; changing 
  1.5             county retention of collection of overpayments; 
  1.6             clarifying the use of photographic data as evidence; 
  1.7             seeking a federal waiver to allow administrative 
  1.8             disqualification in the medical assistance program; 
  1.9             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 13.69, 
  1.10            subdivision 1; 176.191, subdivision 4; 256.019; 
  1.11            256.98, by adding a subdivision; and 256B.09. 
  1.12  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.13     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.69, 
  1.14  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.15     Subdivision 1.  [CLASSIFICATIONS.] (a) The following 
  1.16  government data of the department of public safety are private 
  1.17  data:  
  1.18     (1) medical data on driving instructors, licensed drivers, 
  1.19  and applicants for parking certificates and special license 
  1.20  plates issued to physically handicapped persons; 
  1.21     (2) other data on holders of a disability certificate under 
  1.22  section 169.345, except that data that are not medical data may 
  1.23  be released to law enforcement agencies; 
  1.24     (3) social security numbers in driver's license and motor 
  1.25  vehicle registration records, except that social security 
  1.26  numbers must be provided to the department of revenue for 
  1.27  purposes of tax administration and, the department of labor and 
  1.28  industry for purposes of workers' compensation administration 
  2.1   and enforcement;, and the department of human services for 
  2.2   public assistance program administration and enforcement; 
  2.3      (4) data on persons listed as designated caregivers under 
  2.4   section 171.07, subdivision 11, except that the data must be 
  2.5   released to: 
  2.6      (i) law enforcement agencies for the purpose of verifying 
  2.7   that an individual is a designated caregiver; or 
  2.8      (ii) law enforcement agencies who state that the license 
  2.9   holder is unable to communicate at that time and that the 
  2.10  information is necessary for notifying the designated caregiver 
  2.11  of the need to care for a child of the license holder.  
  2.12     (b) The following government data of the department of 
  2.13  public safety are confidential data:  data concerning an 
  2.14  individual's driving ability when that data is received from a 
  2.15  member of the individual's family. 
  2.16     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 176.191, 
  2.17  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.18     Subd. 4.  [PROGRAM PAYMENTS.] If the employee's medical 
  2.19  expenses for a personal injury are paid pursuant to any program 
  2.20  administered by the commissioner of human services, or if the 
  2.21  employee or spouse or dependents living with the employee 
  2.22  receive subsistence or other payments pursuant to such a 
  2.23  program, and it is subsequently determined that the injury is 
  2.24  compensable pursuant to this chapter, the workers' compensation 
  2.25  insurer shall reimburse the commissioner of human services for 
  2.26  the payments made, including interest at a rate of 12 percent a 
  2.27  year. 
  2.28     Amounts paid to an injured employee or spouse or dependents 
  2.29  living with the employee pursuant to such a program and 
  2.30  attributable to the personal injury shall be deducted from any 
  2.31  settlement or award of compensation or benefits under this 
  2.32  chapter, including, but not limited to, temporary and permanent 
  2.33  disability benefits.  
  2.34     The insurer shall attempt, with due diligence, to ascertain 
  2.35  whether payments have been made to an injured employee pursuant 
  2.36  to such a program prior to any settlement or issuance of a 
  3.1   binding award and shall notify the department of human services, 
  3.2   benefit recovery section, when such payments have been made.  An 
  3.3   employee who has received public assistance payments shall 
  3.4   notify the department of human services, benefit recovery 
  3.5   section, of its potential intervention claim prior to making or 
  3.6   settling a claim for benefits under this chapter.  Notice served 
  3.7   on local human services agencies is not sufficient to meet the 
  3.8   notification requirement in this subdivision. 
  3.9      For purposes of this subdivision, and upon request by the 
  3.10  commissioner of human services, the commissioner shall share 
  3.11  information relating to workers compensation claims, to include 
  3.12  on-line access, in order to determine whether the claimant has 
  3.13  reported the fact of a pending claim and the amount paid, if 
  3.14  any, to or on behalf of the claimant, to the department of human 
  3.15  services. 
  3.16     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256.019, is 
  3.17  amended to read: 
  3.18     256.019 [RECOVERY OF MONEY; APPORTIONMENT.] 
  3.19     When an amount is recovered from any source for assistance 
  3.20  recovery is made by a county agency for assistance given under 
  3.21  the provisions governing public assistance programs including 
  3.22  aid to families with dependent children, MFIP-S the cash 
  3.23  component of MFIP, general assistance medical care, emergency 
  3.24  assistance, general assistance, and Minnesota supplemental aid, 
  3.25  the county may keep one-half of recovery made directly or 
  3.26  through the Revenue Recapture Act by the county agency using any 
  3.27  method other than recoupment.  For medical assistance, if the 
  3.28  recovery is made by a county agency using any method other than 
  3.29  recoupment, the county may keep one-half of the nonfederal share 
  3.30  of the any recovery.  This does not apply to recoveries from 
  3.31  medical providers or to recoveries begun by the department of 
  3.32  human services' surveillance and utilization review division, 
  3.33  state hospital collections unit, and the benefit recoveries 
  3.34  division or, by the attorney general's office, or child support 
  3.35  collections.  In the food stamp program, the nonfederal share of 
  3.36  recoveries in the federal tax refund offset program (FTROP) only 
  4.1   will be divided equally between the state agency and the 
  4.2   involved the federal recovery incentive may be retained by the 
  4.3   county agency where the recovery is made directly or through the 
  4.4   Revenue Recapture Act.  Where recoveries are made through 
  4.5   recoupment, or the use of a collection project, to include the 
  4.6   Treasury Offset Program or the Minnesota Collection Enterprise, 
  4.7   the county retention rate shall be one-half of the amount that 
  4.8   could be retained for a direct cash recovery. 
  4.9      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256.98, is 
  4.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.11     Subd. 10.  [PHOTOGRAPHIC COPIES AS EVIDENCE.] Any 
  4.12  application redetermination or other case documentation scanned 
  4.13  or otherwise entered into a computer system, in any program 
  4.14  administered by the commissioner of human services, is governed 
  4.15  by section 600.135, and is admissible in all administrative and 
  4.16  legal proceedings as photographic copies of business and public 
  4.17  records as evidence. 
  4.18     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256B.09, is 
  4.19  amended to read: 
  4.20     256B.09 [INVESTIGATIONS AND WAIVER REQUEST.] 
  4.21     Subdivision 1.  [INVESTIGATIONS.] When an application for 
  4.22  medical assistance hereunder is filed with a county agency, such 
  4.23  county agency shall promptly make or cause to be made such 
  4.24  investigation as it may deem necessary.  The object of such 
  4.25  investigation shall be to ascertain the facts supporting the 
  4.26  application made hereunder and such other information as may be 
  4.27  required by the rules of the state agency.  Upon the completion 
  4.28  of such investigation the county agency shall promptly determine 
  4.29  eligibility.  No approval by the county agency shall be required 
  4.30  prior to payment for medical care provided to recipients 
  4.31  determined to be eligible pursuant to this section. 
  4.32     Subd. 2.  [WAIVER TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF MEDICAL 
  4.33  ASSISTANCE ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.] (a)  [REQUEST.] The 
  4.34  commissioner of human services shall seek from the United States 
  4.35  Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Finance 
  4.36  Administration, a waiver permitting the utilization of 
  5.1   administrative procedures and remedies, to include program 
  5.2   disqualifications in situations involving wrongfully obtaining 
  5.3   public assistance as defined in section 256.98. 
  5.4      (b) [IMPLEMENTATION.] If approval is received from the 
  5.5   Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Finance 
  5.6   Administration, the commissioner shall promptly implement the 
  5.7   program changes authorized by this section consistent with 
  5.8   sections 256.046 and 256.98, subdivision 8. 
  5.9      Sec. 6.  [FUNDING AVAILABILITY.] 
  5.10     Unexpended funds appropriated for the provision of program 
  5.11  integrity activities for fiscal year 2000 will also be available 
  5.12  to the commissioner to fund fraud prevention and control 
  5.13  initiatives and do not cancel but are available to the 
  5.14  commissioner for these purposes for fiscal year 2001.  
  5.15  Unexpended funds may be transferred between the fraud prevention 
  5.16  investigation program and fraud control programs to promote the 
  5.17  provisions of Minnesota Statutes, sections 256.983 and 256.9861. 
  5.18     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.19     Sections 1 to 6 are effective July 1, 1999.