AFDC/GA REIMBURSEMENT PROVISIONS
§ 257.21. Policy.
(a) General. AFDC/GA reimbursement policy in general is as follows:
(1) There are two closely related reasons for reimbursement. The first rests on the basic principle that public assistance supplements resources and that whenever assistance is granted in lieu of the utilization of certain resources, the assistance should be repaid whenever these resources become available. The second reason relates to the financing of the program. Reimbursement results in a recovery of money that is then available for redistribution as assistance, thereby reducing to this extent the need for additional tax revenues.
(2) Requiring reimbursement from persons who receive assistance in lieu of the utilization of certain resources will insure that they are treated equitably with other persons who have the same kind of resources but who use their resources instead of seeking public assistance. Inherent in this concept is a further saving of tax moneys, since persons will thereby be encouraged to find ways of remaining independent of public assistance.
(3) The obligation of reimbursement has always been inherent in the receiving of public assistance in the Commonwealth. The Supreme Court emphasized this and recognized the right of the Commonwealth to repayment under the common law when it decided in Waits’ Estate, 336 Pa. 151, that ‘‘there is an implied duty on the part of a recipient of public assistance, or his estate, to make reimbursement.’’ The Support Law (see 62 P. S. § § 1971—1977) sets forth certain conditions pertaining to reimbursement. The rules and regulations of the Department which have been developed with the advice of the Attorney General implement the common law and the Support Law (62 P. S. § § 1971—1977) by establishing the limits of liability specifically.
(4) Protection and collection of the Commonwealth’s claim for reimbursement are mandatory, and the interests of the Commonwealth are best protected by providing that property owners pledge property which is liable for reimbursement as security for future reimbursement of assistance received by them or by persons for whom they are held responsible.
(b) Applicability. Reimbursement will be required for Aid to Dependent Children, General Assistance and all burial payments. Blind Pension itself, including payments made for nursing home care, will not be reimbursable. Medical Assistance payments will not be reimbursable. Assistance payments paid to an individual for the period that the individual actually works in community work experience programs are not reimbursable from the individual’s real property.
(c) Liability. Regulations regarding liability for reimbursement are as follows:
(1) The rules which have been established by the Department are a result of progressive interpretation and application of the Support Law (62 P. S. § § 1971—1977), as well as the common law, to questions of liability during the past 10 years. They are embodied in the repayment agreements which property owners have been required to sign in order to insure repayment. Although new repayment agreements were devised in order to cover revisions in regulations from time to time, it was not required that persons who had already signed agreements execute the new ones. Nevertheless, claims for repayment will be computed as though new reimbursement agreements had been taken each time the basis for computation changed.
(2) Liability for reimbursement will depend on three things: ownership of property during receipt of assistance, type of property owned, and the relationship of the property owner to the recipient of assistance.
(3) Liability will begin with the first assistance payment following the acquisition of property or a right to property or the date a resource was due, whichever is appropriate to the kind of property involved.
(4) The owner of real or personal property will be liable for the assistance received by himself and certain of his relatives. This liability for reimbursement will differ from his liability to contribute out of income to the support of his relatives, which is covered by Chapter 187 (relating to support from relatives not living with client).
(d) Collection. Collection of reimbursement claims will be as follows:
(1) The area office will be responsible for collecting reimbursement claims except as provided in § 257.24 (relating to procedures). Records will be maintained of all collections and an Official Receipt, Form PA 175, will be issued for payments received.
(2) The general rule on collection of reimbursement claims is that the Department will proceed in the same way as other creditors. However, there is one very important exception to this rule: the Department will never execute on real property as long as it is the home of the person who is liable for reimbursement, his spouse or children.
(3) The maximum amount the Department will attempt to collect will not exceed the amount of assistance received plus legal costs. Frequently settlement will be made for less, depending upon the circumstances involved in receipt of assistance and ownership of property. Settlements for less, commonly called compromise settlements, will be agreed to only with the approval of the Department of Justice after approval by claim settlement which will take into consideration such factors as degree of ownership, present and future value of property, prior encumbrances, costs of legal action and known court practices. In short, compromise settlements, when made, will be based on good business practice. In addition, escrow agreements as provided in § 257.24 may postpone payment of a claim.
(4) The market value of the property at the time the claim is paid will be one of the bases for settling the claim. The market value at the time of acknowledgment of liability will not be considered.
Authority The provisions of this § 257.21 issued under sections 201(2) and 403(b) of the Public Welfare Code (62 P. S. § § 201(2) and 403(b)).
Source The provisions of this § 257.21 adopted August 4, 1977, effective August 5, 1977, 7 Pa.B. 2180; amended August 27, 1982, effective August 28, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2851. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (71870).
Notes of Decisions Claimant’s husband, who was a ‘‘co-owner’’ of a house with his mother, is subject to liability under 55 Pa. Code § 257.21(c)(4) and his failure to sign the proper acknowledgement of liability gives cause for denial of benefits, according to 55 Pa. Code § 257.24(a)(ii). Hasson v. Department of Public Welfare, 461 A.2d 339 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1983).
The requirement that a recipient of AFDC benefits execute a reimbursement agreement does not intrude upon a tenancy by the entireties property interest, but seeks merely to insure the future accessibility of any recoverable money to which the DPW may be entitled upon termination of the tenancy by the entireties. Kossman v. Department of Public Welfare, 450 A.2d 239 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1982).
The hearing examiner’s finding as to the date of ownership of the real property, though not phrased as precisely as it may have been, was specific enough, because it was clarified by the examiner’s comment in his discussion on the recipient’s attempt to controvert the recited date of sale of the property. Floyd v. Department of Public Welfare, 407 A.2d 1388 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1979).
Cross References This section cited in 55 Pa. Code § 257.24 (relating to procedures).
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