68-973.

Medical assistance programs; improper payments; postpayment reimbursement; legislative findings; integrity procedures and guidelines; legislative intent.

(1) The Legislature finds that the medical assistance program would benefit from increased efforts to (a) prevent improper payments to service providers, including, but not limited to, enforcement of eligibility criteria for recipients of benefits, enforcement of enrollment criteria for providers of benefits, determination of third-party liability for benefits, review of claims for benefits prior to payment, and identification of the extent and cause of improper payment, (b) identify and recoup improper payments, including, but not limited to, identification and investigation of questionable payments for benefits, administrative recoupment of payments for benefits, and referral of cases of fraud to the state medicaid fraud control unit for prosecution, and (c) collect postpayment reimbursement, including, but not limited to, maximizing prescribed drug rebates and maximizing recoveries from estates for paid benefits.

(2) The Legislature further finds that (a) the medical assistance program was established under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act and is a joint federal-state-funded health insurance program that is the primary source of medical assistance for low-income, disabled, and elderly Nebraskans and (b) the federal government establishes minimum requirements for the medical assistance program and the state designs, implements, administers, and oversees the medical assistance program.

(3) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish and maintain integrity procedures and guidelines for the medical assistance program that meet minimum federal requirements and that coordinate with federal program integrity efforts in order to provide a system that encourages efficient and effective provision of services by Nebraska providers for the medical assistance program.