2900 - OTHER PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
2910 Third Party Resources - A third party is an individual, institution, corporation, public or private agency (other than the applicant/ recipient or the Department of DCF) who is or may be liable to pay all or part of the medical costs of a recipient that otherwise would be paid through the medical program.
Individuals eligible for cash assistance will be informed that they have the responsibility to utilize all available medical resources and to inform the agency of any third parties which may have a legal obligation to assume responsibility for payment of any or all medical expenses. (Examples are Medicare and other health insurance.) Refer to 2120 for the eligibility factor related to cooperation and 2912 regarding cooperation with HIPPS.
Third party liability can be considered a resource to the applicant/recipient in the sense that it is or may be available to meet particular medical expenses, but is not considered against allowable non-exempt resource standards. In addition, eligibility may be denied or terminated for failure to cooperate in identifying and pursuing third party resources in accordance with 2120 or in cooperation with the HIPPS process in accordance with 2912.
The local DCF office has the responsibility to ascertain and document legal liabilities of third parties (e.g., private or group health insurance coverage, Medicare, VA, etc.) or of pending law suits which might establish such a liability.