Kirsch, J.
Alexis Hutchison (“Hutchison”) appeals a small claims court (“trial court”) judgment in favor of Trilogy Health Services, LLC, d/b/a Springhurst Health Campus (“Springhurst”), on Springhurst’s claim against Hutchison and her now-deceased mother, Martha Farber (“Farber”), for payment of services provided to Farber while she was a resident at Springhurst. Hutchison raises three issues that we consolidate and restate as: whether the trial court erred when it entered a judgment in favor of Springhurst and against Hutchison.
We reverse and remand.
….
In this case, Springhurst’s claim is that Hutchison is contractually liable for the outstanding bill because she signed the Agreement as a Responsible Party and, therefore, was required to use Farber’s money to pay the bill for amounts owed to Springhurst. As Hutchison correctly asserts, Congress has imposed limitations on the concept of a family member being financially responsible for a family member’s care. For instance, federal law prohibits a nursing home certified as eligible for Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement from requiring guarantees as a condition of admission or extended care: 42 U.S.C. §§1396r(c)(5)(A)(ii) and 1395i-3(c)(5)(A)(ii) provide that with respect to admission to a nursing facility, the facility “must not require a third party guarantee of payment to the facility as a condition of admission . . . to, or continued stay in, the facility.” See also 42 C.F.R. § 483.12(d)(2) (same). These provisions plainly prohibit facilities from conditioning admission upon a third party’s guarantee of private pay costs. However, the analysis does not end there.
The federal statutes also state that Medicare-qualified and Medicaid-qualified facilities are not precluded from “requiring an individual, who has legal access to a resident’s income or resources available to pay for care in the facility, to sign a contract (without incurring personal financial liability) to provide payment from the resident’s income or resources for such care.” 42 U.S.C. §§ 1395i-3(c)(5)(B)(ii), 1396r(c)(5)(B)(ii); 42 C.F.R. § 483.12(d)(2). A section in the Indiana Administrative Code concerning “admissions” to “comprehensive care facilities” provides likewise:
The facility must not require a third party guarantee of payment to the facility as a condition of admission or expedited admission, or continued stay in the facility. However, the facility may require an individual who has legal access to a resident’s income or resources available to pay for facility care to sign a contract, without incurring personal financial liability, to provide facility payment from the resident’s income or resources.
410 Ind. Admin. Code 16.2-3.1-16. [Footnote omitted.]
Admission documents often use the term “responsible party” for third-party designations. See Katherine C. Pearson, The Responsible Thing to Do About “Responsible Party” Provisions in Nursing Home Agreements: A Proposal for Change on Three Fronts, 37 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 757, 764 (2004). While resident rights advocates have taken the position that third-party guarantee, or responsible party, provisions are inherently illegal, inconsistent with the goal of federal law, and are unenforceable, some courts have concluded that under federal law, third parties can “volunteer” to sign as guarantors of payment to nursing homes. Id. It appears Indiana courts have not yet expressly spoken to the legality of the responsible party provisions; although Hutchison urges us to declare that such provisions are unenforceable, we find it unnecessary to reach that issue today.
The Agreement before us provided that the resident, in this case Farber, “may designate” a person to act on her behalf as a Responsible Party/Agent. Appellant’s App. at 13. As such, Farber was permitted, but not required, to designate an individual to act on her behalf. The Agreement continued,
If the Resident so designates a Responsible Party/Agent, the Resident shall provide the Facility with a copy of a written agreement that authorizes such individual to manage, use, control or access the Resident’s income, financial account(s) or other resources (i.e. real estate or other property), inspect and copy the Resident’s records, and execute this Agreement on the Resident’s behalf.
Id. (emphasis added). There is no evidence that Farber, or anyone else, provided Springhurst with any such document; indeed, the unrefuted evidence is that Springhurst did not possess any such document. Simply stated, there was no evidence that Hutchison ever had any authority to “manage, use, control or access” her mother’s income, financial accounts, or other resources. Hutchison repeatedly testified that she was not and never had been her mother’s power of attorney and never had any authority to access her mother’s money. Tr. at 19, 20, 21, 24. Springhurst presented no evidence to the contrary.
The Agreement did not expressly define the term Responsible Party, but outlined the responsibilities and obligations, stating that the Responsible Party agreed “to pay the Facility the full amount of the Resident’s income and resources that the Responsible Party/Agent controls or accesses.” Appellant’s App. at 13 (emphasis added). That is, the Agreement obligated the Responsible Party to pay Springhurst only to the extent that the Responsible Party had access or control of the Resident’s income and resources. Again, the uncontroverted evidence presented here was that Hutchison possessed neither control nor access to Farber’s income and resources. Under the Agreement, the Responsible Party also agreed “to be personally responsible and liable to the Facility for the income and resources of the Resident that the Responsible Party/Agent withholds, misappropriates for personal use, or otherwise does not pay over to the Facility for the Resident’s benefit or apply towards payment of the Resident’s financial obligations to the Facility[.]” Id. (emphasis added). No evidence was presented to establish or even suggest that Hutchison withheld or misappropriated Farber’s funds, and while Hutchison did not “pay over” Farber’s income or resources to Springhurst, there was no evidence that, at any time, she had any authority to do so. [Footnote omitted.]
Under the circumstances of this case, we find that Hutchison has demonstrated prima facie reversible error; Hutchison agreed “to pay the Facility the full amount of the Resident’s income and resources that the Responsible Party/Agent controls or accesses,” and there was no evidence presented that she ever had access to or control of Farber’s income or resources from which to make payment to Springhurst. Appellant’s App. at 13. We hold that the trial court erred when it entered judgment against Hutchison in favor of Springhurst, and we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand with instructions to enter judgment for Hutchison.
Reversed and remanded.
FRIEDLANDER, J., and BAILEY, J., concur.