Michigan § 400.77 - Reimbursement of county for welfare relief; relatives or estate; agreements; hospital care, exception; county employees; collection by counties.

The county department of social welfare is hereby authorized and empowered to collect and receive funds to reimburse the county for expenditures made on behalf of recipients of any form of aid or relief, or hospital care provided at county expense, from such recipients, their relatives legally responsible under the laws of this state for the support of such recipients, or from the estates of recipients, in accordance with the laws of this state, and the rules and regulations of the state department of social welfare, which funds, reimbursed for direct relief, shall be disbursed to carry out the provisions of this act. Agreements for the reimbursement of the county department of social welfare for relief granted to persons or families in their own homes may be required in the cases of applicants whose need for relief is based in whole or in part on inability to obtain funds, moneys, moneys which may be received, income or assets unavailable at the time of application for or grant of relief: Provided, however, That earnings from wages or salaries not due or owing at the time of application for or grant of relief shall not be included in reimbursement agreements. Reimbursements for any form of hospital care provided at county expense shall be collected and paid over by the department of social welfare to the county treasurer for deposit to the fund from which such expenditure was made: Provided, That no county department of social welfare nor any other agency of county government shall collect or receive reimbursements for hospitalization or other treatment for tuberculosis, whether there is an agreement to reimburse the county or not, unless such reimbursement has been ordered by the state commissioner of health or is found acceptable by him as a voluntary reimbursement as provided in section 3a of Act No. 314 of the Public Acts of 1927, as added, being section 329.403a of the Compiled Laws of 1948, and no county department of social welfare shall collect or receive reimbursements for hospitalization or other treatment for any other communicable disease or diseases. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the civil service status, if any, of county employees now engaged in collecting reimbursements for the county for any form of aid, relief or hospital care, under the supervision of any other county department. All such employees, and all collection records and files in the county on cases investigated by the department of social welfare prior to the effective date hereof, shall be transferred to and be under the supervision, control and jurisdiction of the board of social welfare in such county.

If a county has acknowledged liability or has reimbursed another county for the cost of any form of aid, relief or hospital care provided at county expense, the county so reimbursed shall credit or remit, as the case may be, to the paying county within 60 days, any additional collections thereon from any other source. It shall be the duty of each county department of social welfare to continue to collect according to its best judgment and ability, if so requested by the county which has acknowledged or paid for any form of aid, relief or hospital care provided at county expense.