A WOMAN was left stunned after receiving a letter that she owed thousands of dollars to cover her late mom’s Medicaid bills.
The daughter received the notice in the summer of 2021 and faced having to cover $77,000.
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Grieving relatives have to scramble to cover the costs and may have to sell assets, including homes, as a last resort.
The woman’s mom, 88, died following a battle with vascular dementia and she had lived in the home for more than 60 years, per The New York Times.
Her daughter, from the Midwest, told the outlet that she was shocked after receiving the letter.
“I was stunned,” she said.
She admitted she thought it may have been a scam.
It emerged the elderly woman had opted into Medicaid so her daughter could receive payments for caring for her.
When Medicaid recipients over age 55 have used facilities such as nursing homes or benefited from home care, states have to try and recover debts from their estates after their deaths.
Lawyers have warned that families could end up having to sell the home.
“If there’s going to be tens of thousands of dollars available for recovery, in most cases, it’s the house,” Eric Carlson, from Justice in Aging, said.
States have recovered millions of dollars from thousands of estates.
Officials in Tennessee recovered more than $38 million from over 8,000 estates in 2023.
New York and Ohio recovered more than $100 million combined, as reported by the Associated Press.
Medicaid can put liens on homes, but not all states do, according to the American Council on Aging.
Earlier this month, Jan Schakowsky, a Democratic Party congresswoman in Illinois, introduced a law that would end the practice.
“Medicaid is the only public benefit program that requires states to seek repayment for long-term care services,” she said.
“In many cases, Medicaid estate recovery keeps families in poverty and forces seniors and disabled individuals to forego care.
“This practice is a well-kept secret with devastating and shocking consequences.”
Recovering assets to cover Medicaid debts
WHEN Medicaid recipients over age 55 have used facilities such as nursing homes, states have to try and recover debts from their estates after their deaths.
This means families of grieving relatives have to scramble to try and cover the costs.
Families have received letters warning they owe thousands of dollars.
Some have been warned they face lawsuits if they don’t comply with the requests to pay up.
But legal experts say families are forced into selling their homes to cover the costs.
Lawmakers have proposed legislation that would end the practice.
Most states allow Medicaid recipients to retain around $2,000 worth of assets.
Homes can be exempt, but the rules state the Medicaid recipient must live inside the property or have a spouse that lives in it.
There are certain scenarios where Medicaid offices cannot recover costs.
This includes when there is a surviving spouse and there is a surviving child under the age of 21, blind or disabled.
Attorneys have warned that states that don’t carry out the law could lose Medicaid funding from the federal government.
Low-income families, disabled Americans, and seniors are among the groups that might be eligible for Medicaid.
The program is also open to those who are pregnant, children under 21, and Americans who need long-term care.
Americans whose incomes are below 138% of the federal poverty line can qualify but eligibility rules differ across the country.
Forty states and Washington DC have expanded Medicaid provision through the Affordable Care Act.
A Supreme Court ruling in 2012 revealed that it was up to individual states whether they wanted to opt into the healthcare insurance program.
But Medicaid has left the families of recipients scrambling to cover huge debts following deaths.
The U.S. Sun reported how Sandy LoGrande, of Massachusetts, was hit with a $177,000 bill to cover her dad’s Medicaid expenses.
She was warned she would be sued if she didn’t cover the costs.
LoGrande claimed her dad wouldn’t have signed up for the provision if he knew his home would be at risk as part of the debt collection process.
The case was eventually settled with the state in 2019.
The U.S. Sun has approached the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
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