2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 44 - Municipal Finance › Section 72 - Federal Funds for Reimbursable Medical Expenses; Distribution

Section 72. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, any local government entity may receive federal funds for reimbursable medical services where all conditions set forth in this section are met. Federal payments under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, claimed pursuant to this section, shall be distributed as follows: (1) with regard to federal payments that are attributable to reimbursable medical services provided to students who are in residential special education programs pursuant to the provisions of chapter 71B, (a) 50 per cent of such payments shall be returned to the local government entity, and (b) 50 per cent of such payments shall be deposited into the general fund; (2) with regard to federal payments that are attributable to any other reimbursable medical service, 100 per cent of such payments shall be returned to the local government entity, except that, for the purpose of paying the contingency fee due to a commonwealth contractor for obtaining federal payments attributable to such non-education-related services, the comptroller shall retain from such a local government entity payments in an amount equal to such contingency fee. For purposes of this section, ''commonwealth contractor'' shall mean any party with whom the commonwealth has entered into a contingency agreement for the purpose of assisting the local government entity in obtaining federal reimbursement. Federal payments under Title XXI of the Social Security Act, claimed pursuant to this section, shall be distributed as follows: (1) any federal payment amount in excess of 50 per cent of the expenditure amount claimed by the division of medical assistance on the federal claim form shall be deposited into the Children's and Seniors' Health Care Assistance Fund established by section 2FF of chapter 29; and (2) the remaining federal payment amount shall be distributed in the manner described in the preceding sentence. Any funds received by a local government entity pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be considered unrestricted revenue of the local government entity and may be spent in accordance with any general or special law governing the expenditure of the entity's revenues. Before incurring any cost or providing any service for which it intends to claim federal payments under this section, the local government entity shall obtain the approval of the division, but the division, in its sole discretion, may waive this requirement where it determines that such a waiver would be in the best interests of the commonwealth. To receive any amounts under this section, the local government entity shall enter into a written agreement with the division directly or indirectly through an agency or other political subdivision, which agreement shall contain all provisions that the division deems suitable or necessary to support any claim for federal payments under this section. In addition, any local government entity that has entered into a written agreement with the division shall provide to the division, on such forms and at such times as the division may require, any information that the division deems suitable or necessary to support any claim for federal payments under this section. The division shall have the sole discretion to approve or disapprove any local government entity's proposal to claim federal payments. No action or failure to act by the division under this section shall be subject to any administrative or judicial review. The parent or guardian of any child who receives any service for which a local government entity is responsible under this section and which otherwise would be a reimbursable medical service shall, upon request, disclose to such local government entity the child's member identification number established by the division. For the purposes of this section, ''federal payments'' shall mean amounts received by the commonwealth as reimbursement for the federal share of payments for services described herein. For the purposes of this section, ''local government entity'' shall mean any city or town, public health commission, charter school or regional school district that is responsible, or assumes responsibility, either directly or indirectly through an agency or other political subdivision, for payment of the state share for services described herein. Such state share shall consist exclusively of public funds. Any local or regional school district or committee and the department of education may also contribute to the state share for any such services that are provided under the auspices of said department. For the purposes of this section, ''reimbursable medical services'' shall mean services, including administrative activities related to such services, that are medically necessary and for which federal payment otherwise is available under the programs of medical care and assistance established under chapter 118E and policies, procedures and criteria established by the division. For the purposes of this section, ''state share'' shall mean amounts which the commonwealth is obligated to assume in order to claim federal payment for reimbursable medical services.