NRS425.360. Debt for support: Payment of public assistance creates debt; amount; Division entitled to reimbursement; conditions under which debt not incurred; provision of information concerning health insurance coverage of dependent children.

      1.  Any payment of public assistance pursuant to this chapter creates a debt for support to the Division by the responsible parent, whether or not the parent received prior notice that the child of the parent was receiving public assistance.

      2.  The Division is entitled to the amount to which a dependent child or a person having the care, custody and control of a dependent child would have been entitled for support, to the extent of the assignment of those rights to support pursuant to NRS 425.350, and may prosecute or maintain any action for support or execute any administrative remedy existing under the laws of this State to obtain reimbursement of money expended for public assistance from any liable third party, including an insurer, group health plan as defined in section 607(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C.A. § 1167(1), service benefit plan, self-insured plan or health maintenance organization. If a court enters judgment for an amount of support to be paid by a responsible parent, the Division is entitled to the amount of the debt created by that judgment to the extent of the assignment of rights to support pursuant to NRS 425.350, and the judgment awarded shall be deemed to be in favor of the Division to that extent. This entitlement applies to, but is not limited to, a temporary order for spousal support, a family maintenance order or an alimony order, whether or not allocated to the benefit of the child on the basis of providing necessaries for the caretaker of the child, up to the amount paid by the Division in public assistance to or for the benefit of a dependent child. The Division may petition the appropriate court for modification of its order on the same grounds as a party to the action.

      3.  If there is no court order for support, or if the order provides that no support is due but the facts on which the order was based have changed, the amount due is the amount computed pursuant to NRS 125B.070 and 125B.080, using the Nevada average wage, determined by the Employment Security Division of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, if the gross income of the responsible parent cannot be otherwise ascertained.

      4.  Debts for support may not be incurred by a parent or any other person who is the recipient of public assistance for the benefit of a dependent child for the period when the parent or other person is a recipient.

      5.  If a state agency is assigned any rights of a dependent child or a person having the care, custody and control of a dependent child who is eligible for medical assistance under Medicaid, the person having the care, custody and control of the dependent child shall, upon request of the state agency, provide to the state agency information regarding the dependent child or a person having the care, custody and control of a dependent child to determine:

      (a) Any period during which the dependent child or a person having the care, custody and control of a dependent child may be or may have been covered by an insurer; and

      (b) The nature of any coverage that is or was provided by the insurer, including, without limitation, the name and address of the insured dependent child or a person having the care, custody and control of a dependent child and the identifying number of the policy, evidence of coverage or contract.

      (Added to NRS by 1977, 721; A 1981, 353; 1985, 1433; 1987, 2254; 1995, 2425; 1997, 2247; 2007, 2394)