{ "id": 9249666, "name": "HOWARD EUGENE CAMPBELL, Plaintiff v. NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, DIVISION OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE, Defendant", "name_abbreviation": "Campbell v. North Carolina Department of Human Resources", "decision_date": "2002-10-01", "docket_number": "No. COA01-1048", "first_page": "305", "last_page": "308", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "153 N.C. App. 305" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C. Ct. App.", "id": 14983, "name": "North Carolina Court of Appeals" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "493 S.E.2d 656", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1997, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "347 N.C. 269", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 551274, 551248, 551345, 551158, 551103 ], "year": 1997, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/347/0269-03", "/nc/347/0269-01", "/nc/347/0269-02", "/nc/347/0269-04", "/nc/347/0269-05" ] }, { "cite": "486 S.E.2d 469", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "471" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "126 N.C. App. 672", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 11712690 ], "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "677" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/126/0672-01" ] }, { "cite": "366 S.E.2d 518", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1988, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "520" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "89 N.C. App. 566", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8523936 ], "year": 1988, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "568" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/89/0566-01" ] }, { "cite": "467 S.E.2d 722", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1996, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "citation omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "342 N.C. 666", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 795905, 796004, 796039, 796018, 795995 ], "year": 1996, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "citation omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/342/0666-05", "/nc/342/0666-03", "/nc/342/0666-01", "/nc/342/0666-04", "/nc/342/0666-02" ] }, { "cite": "464 S.E.2d 409", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "410" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "342 N.C. 349", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 796111 ], "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "351" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/342/0349-01" ] }, { "cite": "467 S.E.2d 905", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1996, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "\"a person [who] accepts medical assistance through [DMA] . . . assigns to the State the right to any third party benefits the person may subsequently recover\"" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "342 N.C. 896", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 796000, 795975, 796076, 796028, 795997 ], "year": 1996, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "\"a person [who] accepts medical assistance through [DMA] . . . assigns to the State the right to any third party benefits the person may subsequently recover\"" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/342/0896-04", "/nc/342/0896-01", "/nc/342/0896-03", "/nc/342/0896-05", "/nc/342/0896-02" ] }, { "cite": "466 S.E.2d 717", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1996, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "719", "parenthetical": "\"a person [who] accepts medical assistance through [DMA] . . . assigns to the State the right to any third party benefits the person may subsequently recover\"" }, { "page": "719", "parenthetical": "State subrogated to all rights of recovery of beneficiary of medical assistance, \"to the extent of [Medicaid] payments under [Medical Assistance Program]\"" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "121 N.C. App. 517", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 11918408 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1996, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "\"a person [who] accepts medical assistance through [DMA] . . . assigns to the State the right to any third party benefits the person may subsequently recover\"" }, { "page": "519", "parenthetical": "State subrogated to all rights of recovery of beneficiary of medical assistance, \"to the extent of [Medicaid] payments under [Medical Assistance Program]\"" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/121/0517-01" ] }, { "cite": "361 S.E.2d 734", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "738" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "321 N.C. 1", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2570712 ], "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "6" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/321/0001-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 466, "char_count": 9119, "ocr_confidence": 0.778, "pagerank": { "raw": 1.044459689166815e-07, "percentile": 0.5517165286470369 }, "sha256": "b0521c3475799286ac6790bc9e3514624d057d3cbd831e003f82aa3a9741530b", "simhash": "1:0e6d485015ea3036", "word_count": 1442 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T15:17:05.865609+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "Chief Judge EAGLES and Judge WALKER concur." ], "parties": [ "HOWARD EUGENE CAMPBELL, Plaintiff v. NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, DIVISION OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE, Defendant" ], "opinions": [ { "text": "BIGGS, Judge.\nPlaintiff appeals from an order requiring him to pay defendant, North Carolina Department of Human Resources, Division of Medical Assistance (hereinafter referred to as DMA), $3,788.00 in reimbursement for medical assistance benefits. We affirm.\nOn 23 October 1999, plaintiff was injured in an automobile accident. At the time of the accident, plaintiff was seventeen years old, and lived with his mother and sole guardian, Lenora McCleod. At some point prior to the accident, plaintiff was enrolled in the Medicaid program; consequently, defendant paid medical care providers $3,788.00 for services rendered to plaintiff as a result of the injuries plaintiff received in the accident. On 10 July 2000, a month after plaintiffs eighteenth birthday, he settled a personal injury claim arising out of the accident for $25,000. The settlement money was paid directly to plaintiff. Thereafter, defendant sought reimbursement of the $3,788.00 paid to plaintiffs medical care providers.\nPlaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action on 12 October 2000, seeking a judgment that plaintiff was not indebted to defendant, and that defendant had no right of subrogation against him. In addition, plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment on 21 November 2000, which was heard on 26 February 2001. The trial court entered an order on 23 March 2001, concluding \u201cas a matter of law . . . that the Plaintiff is a \u2018beneficiary\u2019 under N.C.G.S. 108A-57\u201d and ordering that plaintiff pay defendant the sum of $3,788.00 \u201cunder the terms of the lien set out in N.C.G.S. 108A-57.\u201d Plaintiff appeals from this order.\nPlaintiff argues that the trial court erred by requiring him to repay defendant for the cost of medical assistance. He contends that he is not \u201ca \u2018beneficiary\u2019 under N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108-57 or a \u2018recipient\u2019 under N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-59[,]\u201d and, thus, that he is under no obligation to reimburse defendant. We disagree.\nIn general, \u201cNorth Carolina law entitles the state to full reimbursement for. any Medicaid payments made on a plaintiff\u2019s behalf in the event the' plaintiff recovers an award for damages.\u201d Cates v. Wilson, 321 N.C. 1, 6, 361 S.E.2d 734, 738 (1987). The pertinent statutory provisions governing defendant\u2019s right to seek reimbursement from those receiving medicaid benefits include N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-57, which provides in relevant part that \u201cto the extent of payments under this Part, the State, or the county providing medical assistance benefits, shall be subrogated to all rights of recovery, contractual or otherwise, of the beneficiary of this assistance^]\u201d Further, N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-59 provides that \u201cby accepting medical assistance, the recipient shall be deemed to have made an assignment to the State of the right to third party benefits, contractual or otherwise, to which he may be entitled.\u201d See N. C. Dept. of Human Resources v. Weaver, 121 N.C. App. 517, 519-, 466 S.E.2d 717, 719, disc. review denied, 342 N.C. 896, 467 S.E.2d 905 (1996) (\u201ca person [who] accepts medical assistance through [DMA] . . . assigns to the State the right to any third party benefits the person may subsequently recover\u201d). Thus, we agree with plaintiff that \u201cwhether or not Plaintiff is obligated ... to refund the money paid by [defendant] hinges upon whether he is the \u2018beneficiary\u2019 or the \u2018recipient\u2019 as defined by law.\u201d\nPlaintiff argues that (1) the assistance provided by the state was \u201cfinancial in nature\u201d; (2) plaintiff was a minor who obtained \u201c[n]o money and no relief from debt\u201d; and (3) as a minor he \u201chad no legal standing to bring a claim for medical expenses[.]\u201d On this basis, plaintiff contends that \u201cany Medicaid payments received [were] for the parent\u2019s benefit, not that of [plaintiff.]\u201d However, plaintiff cites no authority, and we find none, to support his contention that a beneficiary in the meaning of N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-57, or a recipient in the meaning of N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-59, must be one who receives a direct cash payment or relief from debt, or who has the legal right to bring suit for medical benefits.\nUnder N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-24(5), a recipient of medicaid is defined as \u201ca person to whom, or on whose behalf, assistance is granted under this Article.\u201d We conclude that when defendant paid for plaintiffs medical treatment, plaintiff became \u201ca person ... on whose behalf\u201d assistance was rendered. Beneficiary is not defined in N.C.G.S. Chapter 108A. However, \u201c[w]hen language used in the statute is clear and unambiguous, this Court must. .. accord words undefined in the statute their plain and definite meaning.\u201d Poole v. Miller, 342 N.C. 349, 351, 464 S.E.2d 409, 410 (1995), reh\u2019g denied, 342 N.C. 666, 467 S.E.2d 722 (1996) (citation omitted). A beneficiary is \u201ca person who receives benefits];]\u201d while the definition of benefit includes \u201cpayment made under insurance, social security, welfare, etc.\u201d Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary 132 (Judy Pearsall and Bill Trumble, eds., 1995). We conclude that the \u201cplain and definite meaning\u201d of the term \u2018beneficiary\u2019 includes plaintiff.\nIt is true, as plaintiff argues, that a minor \u201ceven after reaching majority, may not recover medical expenses incurred during minority.\u201d Vaughan v. Moore, 89 N.C. App. 566, 568, 366 S.E.2d 518, 520 (1988). Accordingly, the settlement money which plaintiff received was not recompense for medical expenses. However, N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-57(a) does not restrict defendant\u2019s right of subrogation to a beneficiary\u2019s right of recovery only for medical expenses. N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-57(a) (2001) (State \u201csubrogated to all rights of recovery, contractual or otherwise, of the beneficiary of this assistance\u201d); N. C. Dept. of Human Resources v. Weaver, 121 N.C. App. 517, 519, 466 S.E.2d 717, 719 (1996) (State subrogated to all rights of recovery of beneficiary of medical assistance, \u201cto the extent of [Medicaid] payments under [Medical Assistance Program]\u201d) (emphasis added).\nMoreover, this Court previously has held that defendant is entitled to recover the costs of medical treatment provided for a minor, even when the funds received by the minor are not reimbursement for medical expenses. In Payne v. N. C. Dept. of Human Resources, 126 N.C. App. 672, 677, 486 S.E.2d 469, 471, disc. review denied, 347 N.C. 269, 493 S.E.2d 656 (1997), the plaintiff, a minor living with his mother, was severely injured in a swimming pool accident. DMA paid over $138,000 in medical benefits for plaintiff. Plaintiff later settled a personal injury claim for $1,000,000. He distributed $45,000 to his mother for medical expenses, and placed the remainder in an irrevocable disability trust for plaintiff\u2019s benefit. Plaintiff then argued that DMA was barred by a federal statute, 42 U.S.C.A. \u00a7 1396p(a)(l), from enforcing its Medicaid lien, because the statute, which governs the creation of a disability trust, provides that no lien \u201cmay be imposed against the property of any individual ... on account of medical assistance paid ... on his behalf[.]\u201d Plaintiff argued that DMA\u2019s subrogation rights extended only to the amount allocated to his mother for medical expenses. This Court disagreed, and held that \u201cby accepting Medicaid benefits, [minor plaintiff] assigned his right to third-party benefits to DMA, and... DMAs lien vested at that time.\u201d In the instant case, as in Payne, defendant\u2019s lien vested when plaintiff accepted medicaid benefits.\nWe hold that the trial court properly concluded that plaintiff was a beneficiary of Medicaid assistance under N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-57. Thus, the trial court did not err by requiring plaintiff to reimburse defendant out of the proceeds of his settlement. In addition, defendant\u2019s motion to dismiss is denied. Accordingly, the trial court\u2019s order is\nAffirmed.\nChief Judge EAGLES and Judge WALKER concur.", "type": "majority", "author": "BIGGS, Judge." } ], "attorneys": [ "Webb & Graves, PLLC, by Jerry D. Rhoades, Jr., for plaintiff-appellant.", "Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General Claud R. Whitener, III, for the State." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "HOWARD EUGENE CAMPBELL, Plaintiff v. NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, DIVISION OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE, Defendant\nNo. COA01-1048\n(Filed 1 October 2002)\nPublic Assistance\u2014 Medicaid recovery \u2014 personal injury settlement with eighteen-year-old\nThe trial court properly concluded that plaintiff was a beneficiary of Medicaid assistance under N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-57, and did not err by requiring plaintiff to reimburse defendant out of the proceeds of a personal injury settlement, where plaintiff was enrolled in the Medicaid program as a minor, was involved in an automobile accident when he was seventeen, and settled a personal injury claim one month after his eighteenth birthday. Although plaintiff argued that any Medicaid benefits were for the parent\u2019s benefit, there is no authority for the contention that a beneficiary under N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-57, or a recipient in the meaning of N.C.G.S. \u00a7 108A-59, must be one who receives a direct cash payment or relief from debt, or who has the legal right to bring suit for medical benefits.\nAppeal by plaintiff from order entered 23 March 2001 by Judge W. Douglas Albright in Moore County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 10 June 2002.\nWebb & Graves, PLLC, by Jerry D. Rhoades, Jr., for plaintiff-appellant.\nAttorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General Claud R. Whitener, III, for the State." }, "file_name": "0305-01", "first_page_order": 335, "last_page_order": 338 }