Montana Attorney General Opinion 17-10

Opinion No. 10. Old Age Pensions-Medical and Sur- gical Assistance-Counties-Poor. HELD: Persons receiving Old Age Pensions are as eligible to receive medi- cal and surgical assistance from a coun- ty as are other indigent persons. December 29, 1936. 1\1 r. Lee Butler Farr County Attorney, Richland County Sidney, Montana Dear Sir: We have your request for an opinion, which reads as follows: "This County has a contract with a physician for the care and medical treatment of the poor, what obligation does the County bear relative to this contract with persons receiving the Old Age Pension. r s it obligatory for the County to be responsible for the medical care of persons receiving the Old Age Pension?" Section 335.30 R. C. M. 1935, reads as follows: "Recipient shall not receive other public assistance. No person receiv- ing old age assistance grant under this 14 OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL act shall at the same time receive any other relief from the state, or from any political subdivision thereof, ex- cept for medical and surgical assist- ance." Section 333.20 reads in part as fol- lows: "Requirements for assistance. Per- sons eligible to receive old age as- sistance. Old age assistance may be given under this act to any person who: (6) Is not at the time of receiv- ing assistance an inmate of any public or private institution, except in the case of temporary medical or sur- gical care in a hospital. ******* (8) Is not because of his physi- calor mental condition in need of continued institutional care." From the foregoing quoted statutes, it is our opinion that the legislature intended that a person receiving old age assistance should be eligible for such medical and surgical care as is granted to any indigent person in the county. If such a person, because of his physical or mental condition is in need of continual institutional care, he should receive that, but this continued institutional care makes him ineligible for old age assistance. Therefore, it is our opinion that it is just as obligatory for the county to be responsible for the medical care of persons receiving old age assistancf', as it is obligatory for the county to be responsible for the medical care o£ other indigent persons of the county.