53-6-186. Action by department or other person to preserve property subject to lien -- recovery of costs. (1) The department may, in its discretion, take any action it considers necessary to prevent waste or loss or to preserve the value of property subject to a lien under 53-6-171 through 53-6-188, including but not limited to the following:

(a) the payment of any unpaid taxes on the property;

(b) the purchase or renewal of insurance coverage on the property and the payment of necessary insurance premiums;

(c) the ordering of and payment for necessary repairs and maintenance on the property; and

(d) if the property is unoccupied, the rental or lease of the property and the application of any receipts first to unpaid property taxes, insurance, and maintenance and repair and, second, any remaining amount toward repayment of recoverable medical assistance.

(2) The department's reasonable costs and expenses to prevent waste or loss or to preserve the value of the property are secured by the lien imposed under 53-6-171 and may be recovered in addition to all other amounts secured by the lien.

(3) A person who, after the institutionalization or death of the recipient and after the institutionalization of the recipient's surviving spouse, if any, paid real property taxes, homeowner's insurance premiums, or reasonable costs of necessary maintenance or repairs on behalf of the recipient or recipient's spouse, with respect to property subject to a lien under 53-6-171 through 53-6-188, has a claim against the proceeds of a sale of the property under writ of execution issued pursuant to 53-6-183 for recovery of any amounts paid for those purposes. The claim must be supported by written documentation that clearly demonstrates the amount of each payment, the purpose of each payment, and the services and items purchased with each payment. A claim for reimbursement made under this subsection is prior to the department's lien imposed under 53-6-171.

(4) The amount of a claim made under subsection (3) must be reduced by:

(a) the amount of any rents and profits from the property paid after the institutionalization or death of the recipient and the institutionalization of the recipient's surviving spouse, if any;

(b) the value of any property that the person with a claim under subsection (3) will receive by distribution or survival from a deceased recipient if the recipient did not leave a surviving spouse; and

(c) the value of any property that the person with a claim under subsection (3) will receive by distribution or survival from the recipient's deceased spouse if the spouse survived the recipient.