45 C.F.R. Subpart A—General
Title 45 - Public Welfare
(a) This regulation prescribes standards and procedures for the officers and employees of the Department, including officers and employees of the various Operating Divisions and regional offices of the Department, charged with collection and disposition of debts owed to the United States. (b) These standards and procedures will be applied where a statute, regulation or contract does not prescribe different standards or procedures. The authority for the regulation lies in the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, as amended, 31 U.S.C. 3711 and 3716–3718; the Federal Claims Collection Standards, at 4 CFR Parts 101–105; related statutes (5 U.S.C. 5512 and 5514, 5 U.S.C. 552a) and regulations (5 CFR Part 550); and the common law. The covered activities include collecting claims in any amount; compromising claims, or suspending or terminating collection of claims that do not exceed $20,000, exclusive of interest and charges; and referring debts that cannot be disposed of by the Department to the Department of Justice or to the General Accounting Office for further administrative action or litigation. Further guidance may be found in the Departmental General Administration Manual, Personnel Manual, Accounting Manual and Grants Administration Manual, and any other manuals which may be issued by each Operating Division, office, or program. In this part, unless the context otherwise requires— Amounts payable under the Social Security Act means payments by the Department to beneficiaries, providers, intermediaries, physicians, suppliers, carriers, States, or other contractors or grantees under a Social Security Act program, including: Title I (Grants to States for Old-Age Assistance and Medical Assistance for the Aged); Title II (Federal Old-Age Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits); Title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration); Title IV (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services); Title V (Maternal and Child Health and Crippled Children's Services); Title IX (Unemployment Compensation Program); Title X (Grants to States for Aid to the Blind); Title XI, Part B (Peer Review of the Utilization and Quality of Health Care Services); Title XII (Advances to State Unemployment Funds); Title XIV (Grants to States for Aid to Permanently and Totally Disabled); Title XVI (Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled); Title XVII (Grants to States to Fight Mental Retardation); Title XVIII (Medicare); Title XIX (Medicaid); and Title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services). Federal employee salaries and other payments made by the Department in the course of administering the provisions of the Social Security Act are not deemed to be “payable under” the Social Security Act for purposes of this regulation. Claim or Debt means an amount of money or other property owed to the United States. Debts include, but are not limited to amounts owed on account of loans made, insured or guaranteed by the United States; salary overpayments to employees; overpayments to program beneficiaries; overpayments to contractors and grantees, including overpayments arising from audit disallowances; excessive cash advances to employees, grantees and contractors; civil penalties and assessments; theft or loss of money or property; and damages. Debtor means an individual, organization, association, partnership, corporation, or a State or local government or subdivision indebted to the Department; or the person or entity with legal responsibility for assuming the debtor's obligation. Debts arising under the Social Security Act are overpayments to, or contributions, penalties or assessments owed by, beneficiaries, providers, intermediaries, physicians, suppliers, carriers, States or other contractors or grantees under Titles I, II, III, IV, V, IX, X, XI (Part B), XII, XIV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX and XX of the Social Security Act. Salary overpayments and other debts that result from the administration of the provisions of the Social Security Act are not deemed to “arise under” the Social Security Act for purposes of this regulation. Department means the United States Department of Health and Human Services and each of its Operating Divisions and regional offices. Liquidated or certain in amount refers to a debt of an amount already fixed and determined by the Secretary, or which may be readily fixed and determined from the information available in the debt file, irrespective of any dispute by the debtor. Local government means a political subdivision, instrumentality, or authority of any State; the District of Columbia; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; a territory or possession of the United States; or an Indian tribe, band or nation. Operating Division means each separate component within the Department of Health and Human Services, and includes the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Human Development Services, the Family Support Administration, theCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Public Health Service and the Social Security Administration. Overdue refers to a debt not paid by the payment due date specified in the notice of the debt to the debtor (see §30.13(a)) and not the subject of a repayment agreement approved by the Secretary. Also, a debt subject to repayment agreement is considered overdue if the debtor fails to satisfy his or her obligations under that agreement. “Overdue” and “delinquent” have the same meaning. See 4 CFR 101.2(b). Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Secretary's designee within any Operating Division or Regional Office. This regulation does not apply to debts owed by other Federal agencies. These debts will be resolved by negotiation or referral to the General Accounting Office. This regulation does not supersede or require omission or duplication of administrative proceedings required under contract, statute, regulation or other agency procedures. Examples: Resolution of audit findings under grants or contracts, Chapter 1–105, Grants Administration Manual (GAM); informal grant appeals, 45 CFR Part 75 (Departmental), 42 CFR 50.401 et seq. (Public Health Service); formal appeals to the Departmental Grant Appeals Board, 45 CFR Part 16; and review under a procurement contract Disputes Clause and the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), 48 CFR Part 33. The remedies and sanctions available to the Department under this regulation when collecting debts are not intended to be exclusive. The Secretary may impose other appropriate sanctions upon a debtor for inexcusable, prolonged or repeated failure to pay a debt. For example, the Secretary may stop doing business with a grantee, contractor, borrower or lender; convert the method of payment under a grant from an advance to a reimbursement method; or revoke a grantee's letter-of-credit. Any person who converts, or negligently loses or destroys personal property belonging, entrusted or loaned to the Department is liable for the return of the property or payment of its fair market value. A person who damages such property is liable for the cost of repairs or its fair market value, whichever is less. Collection of these debts means the recovery of the property, its fair market value, or the cost of repairs. Demand for payment of these claims means a demand for the return of the property or for payment of its fair market value or the cost of repairs. (a) A debtor whose indebtedness involves criminal activity is subject to punishment by fine or imprisonment as well as to a civil claim by the United States for compensation for the misappropriated funds or property. Examples of such activity are fraud, embezzlement and theft or misuse of Government money or property. See 18 U.S.C. 641, 643. The Secretary will refer cases of suspected criminal activity or misconduct to the Office of Inspector General. That office will investigate such cases, refer them to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution and/or return them to the Secretary for collection, application of administrative sanctions or other disposition. (b) Debts involving anti-trust violations, fraud, false claims or misrepresentation— (1) Shall be referred by the Secretary to the Office of Inspector General for review. The Office of Inspector General shall refer the claim back to the Secretary for collection or other disposition to the extent authorized by the Department of Justice. (2) Shall not be compromised, terminated, suspended or otherwise disposed of by the Secretary under these regulations. Only the Department of Justice is authorized to compromise, terminate, suspend or otherwise dispose of such debts. The Secretary may not compromise but will collect, suspend or terminate collection of debts due on account of illegal, improper or incorrect payments shown in General Accounting Office notices of exception issued to certifying or disbursing officers. Only the General Accounting Office has the authority to compromise such debts. Debts may not be subdivided to avoid the monetary ceilings imposed by 31 U.S.C. 3711(a) (2) and (3) on the Secretary's authority to compromise, suspend or terminate collection of debts. A debtor's liability arising from a particular incident or transaction will be considered a single debt in determining whether the claim exceeds $20,000 for purposes of compromising, suspending or terminating collection efforts. Failure by the Secretary to comply with any provision of this regulation may not serve as a defense to any debtor.
Title 45: Public Welfare
PART 30—CLAIMS COLLECTION
Subpart A—General
§ 30.1 Purpose and scope.
§ 30.2 Definitions.
§ 30.3 Interagency claims.
§ 30.4 Other administrative proceedings.
§ 30.5 Other remedies.
§ 30.6 Property claims.
§ 30.7 Claims involving criminal activity or misconduct.
§ 30.8 Claims arising from GAO exceptions.
§ 30.9 Subdivision of claims.
§ 30.10 Omissions not a defense.
