{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-5051.1","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-5051.1","heading":"Recovery from tortfeasors of amounts paid for medical","body":"expenses of injured and diseased persons - Liens or other legal\n\naction.\n\nA. 1. The payment of medical expenses by the Oklahoma Health\n\nCare Authority for or on behalf of or the receipt of medical\n\nassistance by a person who has been injured, passed away, or who has\n\nsuffered a disease as a result of the negligence or act of another\n\nperson creates a debt to the Authority, subject to recovery by legal\n\naction pursuant to this section. Damages for medical costs are\n\nconsidered a priority over all other damages and shall be paid by\n\nthe tortfeasor prior to all other damages being allocated or paid.\n\n2. The payment of medical expenses by the Authority for or on\n\nbehalf of a person who has been injured or who has suffered a\n\ndisease, and either has a claim or may have a claim against an\n\ninsurer, to the extent recoverable, creates a debt to the Authority\n\nwhether or not such person asserts or maintains a claim against an\n\ninsurer:\n\na. such claim or possible claim cannot be assigned by the\n\nperson receiving medical care to any provider, and\n\nb. no provider may require assignment of subrogation\n\nrights against any possible liable third party as a\n\ncondition for providing medical care.\n\nB. The Authority shall provide notice to all recipients of\n\nmedical assistance at the time of application for such assistance of\n\ntheir obligation to report any claim or action, and any judgment,\n\nsettlement or compromise arising from the claim or action, for\n\ninjury or illness for which the Authority makes payments for medical\n\nassistance.\n\nC. The recipient of medical assistance from the Authority for\n\nan injury or disease who asserts a claim or maintains an action\n\nagainst another on account of the injury or disease, or the\n\nrecipient's legal representative, shall notify the Authority of the\n\nclaim or action and of any judgment, settlement or compromise\n\narising from the claim or action prior to the final judgment,\n\nsettlement or compromise.\n\nD. If the injured or diseased person asserts or maintains a\n\nclaim against another person or tortfeasor on account of the injury\n\nor disease, the Authority:\n\n1. Shall have a lien upon payment of the medical assistance to\n\nthe extent of the total amount so paid upon that part going or\n\nbelonging to the injured or diseased person of any recovery or sum\n\nhad or collected or to be collected by the injured or diseased\n\nperson up to the amount of the damages for the total medical\n\nexpenses, or by the heirs, personal representative or next of kin in\n\ncase of the death of the person, whether by judgment or by\n\nsettlement or compromise. The lien authorized by this subsection\n\nshall:\n\na. have priority over all other liens except any lien by\n\nCMS/Medicare and be inferior only to a lien or claim\n\nof the attorney or attorneys handling the claim on\n\nbehalf of the injured or diseased person, the heirs or\n\npersonal representative,\n\nb. not be applied or considered valid against any\n\ntemporary or permanent disability award of the\n\nclaimant due under the Workers' Compensation Act,\n\nc. be applied and considered valid as against any insurer\n\nadjudged responsible for medical expenses under the\n\nWorkers' Compensation Act, and\n\nd. be applied and considered valid as to the entire\n\nsettlement, after the claim of the attorney or\n\nattorneys for fees and costs, unless a more limited\n\nallocation of damages to medical expenses is shown by\n\nclear and convincing evidence;\n\n2. A lien reduction pursuant to Section 994.2 of Title 12 of\n\nthe Oklahoma Statutes may be negotiated further by the Authority\n\nprovided that the injured person, the personal representative, or\n\nattorney has made a good-faith effort to negotiate a reduction;\n\n3. May take any other legal action necessary to recover the\n\namount so paid or to be paid to the injured or diseased person or to\n12 of\n\nthe Oklahoma Statutes may be negotiated further by the Authority\n\nprovided that the injured person, the personal representative, or\n\nattorney has made a good-faith effort to negotiate a reduction;\n\n3. May take any other legal action necessary to recover the\n\namount so paid or to be paid to the injured or diseased person or to\n\nthe heirs, personal representative or next of kin in case of the\n\ndeath of the person; and\n\n4. Shall have the right to file a written notice of its lien in\n\nany action commenced by the injured or diseased person.\n\nE. The Authority, to secure and enforce the right of recovery\n\nor reimbursement on behalf of the injured or diseased person, may\n\ninitiate and prosecute any action or proceeding against any other\n\nperson or tortfeasor who may be liable to the injured or diseased\n\nperson, if the injured or diseased person has not initiated any\n\nlegal proceedings against the other person or tortfeasor.\n\nF. Any person or insurer that has been notified by the\n\nAuthority of a claim of lien authorized by this section and who,\n\ndirectly or indirectly, pays to the recipient any money as a\n\nsettlement or compromise of the recipient's claim arising out of the\n\ninjury shall be liable to the Authority for the money value of the\n\nmedical assistance rendered by the Authority in an amount not in\n\nexcess of the amount to which the recipient was entitled to recover\n\nfrom the tortfeasor or insurer because of the injury.\n\nG. A Medicaid special needs trust for the purposes of\n\nestablishing or maintaining Medicaid eligibility shall not be\n\napproved until such time as the Authority has been made whole and\n\npaid in full for all paid medical claims which are associated with\n\nthe action.\n\nH. A Medicaid recipient must notify the Authority prior to a\n\ncompromise or settlement against a third party in which the\n\nAuthority has provided or has become obligated to provide medical\n\nassistance.\n\nI. As used in this section:\n\n1. \"Medical expenses\" includes the cost of hospital, medical,\n\nsurgical and dental services, care and treatment, rehabilitation,\n\nand prostheses and medical appliances, and nursing and funeral\n\nservices;\n\n2. \"Person\" includes, in addition to an individual, the\n\nguardian of an individual, and the administrator or executor of the\n\nestate of an individual, and a corporation; and\n\n3. \"Insurer\" means any insurance company that administers\n\naccident and health policies or plans or that administers any other\n\ntype insurance policy containing medical provisions, and any\n\nnonprofit hospital service and indemnity and medical service and\n\nindemnity corporation, actually engaged in business in the state,\n\nregardless of where the insurance contract is written, or plan is\n\nadministered or where such corporation is incorporated.","path":["OK Code","Title 63"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os63.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"5fe7977e915e04c66158d994030606e4e1ddc4063c8eb78af73651d2aeef1da5","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-5031","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-5051.2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}