Medicaid Estate Recovery Program - 2018, 2019, 2020 (Michigan)

Dear Ms. Miller,

Thank you for your interest in public records of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (hereinafter “Department”).
Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

- The total amount, in U.S. dollars, recovered from long-term care recipients in Michigan through the MDHHS Michigan Estate Recovery Program in years 2018, 2019, and 2020, aggregated by year.

For clarification about the program to which I am referring, please refer to the following website: https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-71547_4860_56113_58553---,00.html

The requested information will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In order to help determine my status to assess fees, you should know that I am a freelance journalist whose work has been regularly published by print and digital news outlets and magazines. You can view my portfolio at www.erinmariemiller.com/journalism.

Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the impact of decisions, operations and/or activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest.

Because this request is being made as part of a news-gathering effort with a high likelihood of publication, I request a waiver of all fees.
If a fee waiver is not granted, I am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If the fee for this request exceeds this amount, please notify me in writing prior to beginning work on the request.

I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Erin Marie Miller

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Your request has been assigned the following tracking number: H013436-102621. Your request has a legally received date of October 27, 2021. You will receive a response by the Department by November 03, 2021. Unfortunately, we are unable to expedite requests and the time permitted for response by the Department may be extended beyond November 03, 2021 by ten (10) business days.
In accordance with the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq, the Department provides copies of existing non-exempt records. Records which are exempt from disclosure under state or federal law will not be provided, or records may be redacted to separate exempt information. The FOIA does not require the Department to create new records or answer queries.
You can monitor the progress of your request at the MDHHS Public Records Center and you will receive an email when your request has been completed.
Regards,
Bureau of Legal Affairs,
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

RE: Public Records Request, Reference # H013436-102621

Dear Ms. Miller,

This notice is issued in response to your request, legally received by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (Department) on October 27, 2021, requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq.

Your request is granted. Please login to the FOIA Records Center to access the responsive records. The Department has identified and included the responsive information falling within the scope of your request. To the best of the Department’s knowledge, information, and belief, these are all the records in the possession of the Department falling within the scope of your request. There is no fee for the request as search and retrieval were minimal, falling below the Department’s threshold for processing fees. The Department’s FOIA policies and procedures are available at Policies and Procedures. Sincerely,

Bureau of Legal Affairs

I will double check with the program area but my understanding is this data is still being compiled and is not yet available.

Here's the response from the program area: The reason it is only through June of 2020 is because that is the timeframe for the annual report I have to do for the program. The original request asked for annual recoveries for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020. The report runs from July 1 to June 31 of each year. If she wants the numbers broken down differently then we can do that but it will take longer and there will be a cost.

I added an attachment where it is broken down by month for 2020. This was put together for another request you submitted.