Reference Source

Medicaid Estate Recovery Rules by State

State-by-state Medicaid estate recovery rules, taken from each state's own statute or administrative code: what the state counts as the 'estate' it may recover from (the single biggest difference between states — a probate-only state cannot reach jointly held property, a life estate or a living trust, an expanded state can), when recovery is barred or deferred because a spouse or a minor, blind or disabled child survives, the undue-hardship waiver the state offers, and any home equity limit the provision states. Answers 'can Medicaid take the house', 'does my state recover from non-probate assets', and 'what stops recovery while a survivor is alive'. Each value is a verbatim span of the state's own provision, quoted alongside it.

Records35
Sources35
Verified
Review by
Licencepublic-domain-facts

The data

StateWhat counts as the estateCitationSurvivor protectionsUndue hardship waiver
ArizonaA. The director shall adopt rules in accordance with state and federal law to allow the administration to file a claim against a member's estate to recover paid assistance. The administration is also entitled to a lien on a member's property to recover paid assistance the member receives.36-2935
Californiathe department shall claim against the estate of the decedent, or against any recipient of the property of that decedent by distribution, an amount equal to the payments for the health care services received or the value of the property received by any recipient from the decedent by distribution, whichever is lessWIC 14009.5The department shall not claim under this paragraph when there is any of the following: (i) A surviving spouse or surviving registered domestic partner. (ii) A surviving child who is under 21 years of age. (iii) A surviving child who is blind or disabled, within the meaning of Section 1614 of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1382c).The department shall waive its claim, in whole or in part, if it determines that enforcement of the claim would result in substantial hardship to other dependents, heirs, or survivors of the individual against whose estate the claim exists.
ColoradoMedical assistance paid on behalf of any individual who was fifty-five years of age or older when the individual received such assistance may be recovered by the state department from the estate of such individual in accordance with paragraph (c) of this subsection (2).Colo. Rev. Stat. § 25.5-4-302
Connecticutall sums due on or after July 1, 2003, to any individual after the death of a Medicaid beneficiary pursuant to the terms of an annuity contract purchased at any time with assets of a Medicaid beneficiary, shall be deemed to be part of the estate of the deceased beneficiaryConn. Gen. Stat. § 17b-95The claim of the state shall only be to the extent that the amount which the surviving spouse, parent or dependent children of the decedent would otherwise take from such estate is not needed for their support.
FloridaMedicaid estate recovery shall be accomplished by the agency filing a statement of claim against the estate of a deceased Medicaid recipient as provided in part VII of chapter 733.409.9101The debt created under this section shall not be enforced if the recipient is survived by: (a) A spouse; (b) A child or children under 21 years of age; or (c) A child or children who are blind or permanently and totally disabled pursuant to the eligibility requirements of Title XIX of the Social Security Act.The agency shall not recover from an estate if doing so would cause undue hardship for the qualified heirs, as defined in s. 731.201 . The personal representative of an estate and any heir may request that the agency waive recovery of any or all of the debt when recovery would create a hardship. A hardship does not exist solely because recovery will prevent any heirs from receiving an anticipated inheritance.
HawaiiHaw. Rev. Stat. § 346-37The department shall file a claim against the estate of a deceased recipient of medical assistance for the amount of medical assistance granted, only if the recipient was age fifty-five or over when such medical assistance was received and there is no surviving spouse, or surviving child who is under twenty-one years of age, or blind, or disabled.
Idaho(a) All real and personal property and other assets included within the individual’s estate, as defined for purposes of state probate law; and (b) Any other real and personal property and other assets in which the individual had any legal title or interest at the time of death, to the extent of such interest, including such assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assign of the deceased individual through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement.56-218There shall be no adjustment or recovery until after the death of both the individual and the spouse, if any, and only at a time when the individual has no surviving child who is under twenty-one (21) years of age or is blind or permanently and totally disabled as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1382c.rules establishing undue hardship waivers for the following circumstances: (a) The estate subject to recovery is income-producing property that provides the primary source of support for other family members; or (b) The estate has a value below an amount specified in the rules; or (c) Recovery by the department will cause the heirs of the deceased individual to be eligible for public assistance.
IllinoisThe term "estate", as used in this Section, with respect to a deceased person, means all real and personal property and other assets included within the person's estate, as that term is used in the Probate Act of 1975; however, in the case of a deceased person who has received (or is entitled to receive) benefits under a long-term care insurance policy in connection with which assets or resources are disregarded to the extent that payments are made or because the deceased person received (or was entitled to receive) benefits under a long-term care insurance policy, "estate" also includes any other real and personal property and other assets in which the deceased person had any legal title or interest at the time of his or her death (to the extent of that interest), including assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assignee of the deceased person through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, or other arrangement.305 ILCS 5/5-13but no recovery may be had thereon until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and then only at such time when there is no surviving child who is under age 21, or blind, or is a child with a permanent total disability.
IowaFor purposes of this section, the estate of a medical assistance recipient, surviving spouse, or surviving child includes any real property, personal property, or other asset in which the recipient, spouse, or child had any legal title or interest at the time of the recipient’s, spouse’s, or child’s death, to the extent of such interests, including but not limited to interests in jointly held property, retained life estates, and interests in trusts.§249A.53The department shall waive the collection of the debt created under this subsection from the estate of a recipient of medical assistance to the extent that collection of the debt would result in either of the following: (1) Reduction in the amount received from the recipient’s estate by a surviving spouse, or by a surviving child who was under age twenty-one, blind, or permanently and totally disabled at the time of the individual’s death.The department shall waive the collection of the debt created under this subsection from the estate of a recipient of medical assistance to the extent that collection of the debt would result in either of the following: (1) Reduction in the amount received from the recipient’s estate by a surviving spouse, or by a surviving child who was under age twenty-one, blind, or permanently and totally disabled at the time of the individual’s death. (2) Otherwise work an undue hardship as determined on the basis of criteria established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1396p(b)(3).
Kansassuch claim shall apply to the individual's medical assistance estate. The medical assistance estate is defined as including all real and personal property and other assets in which the deceased individual had any legal title or interest immediately before or at the time of death to the extent of that interest or title. The medical assistance estate includes without limitation, assets conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased recipient through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, transfer-on-death deed, payable-on-death contract, life estate, trust, annuities or similar arrangement.K.S.A. 39-709There shall be no recovery of medical assistance correctly paid to or on behalf of an individual under subsection (i) except after the death of the surviving spouse of the individual, if any, and only at a time when the individual has no surviving child who is under 21 years of age or is blind or permanently and totally disabled.
KentuckyAll real and personal property or other assets owned by the deceased recipient that would be included as probate property under Kentucky law; and (b) All real and personal property or other assets in which the deceased recipient had legal title or interest at the time of death, to the extent of the recipient's interest, whether the asset was conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased recipient through joint tenancy, tenancy in common survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement.907 KAR 1:585Recovery shall not be made from the estate if the estate representative can verify to the department's satisfaction that there is a: (a) Surviving spouse; or (b) Surviving child.The department shall waive estate recovery to the extent the recovery would work an undue hardship. (a) Undue hardship shall exist if an asset subject to recovery is the sole income-producing asset, for example a family farm or business, conveyed to the surviving recipient family member. A sole income-producing asset shall not include residential real property producing income through a lease or rental arrangement.
MaineAll real and personal property and other assets included in the recipient's estate, as defined in Title 18‑C, section 1‑201 ; and (2) Any other real and personal property and other assets in which the recipient had any legal interest at the time of death, to the extent of that interest, including assets conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased recipient through tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, joint tenancy in personal property or other arrangement but not including joint tenancy in real property.22 M.R.S. §14, sub-§2-Ia claim may not be made under paragraph A , subparagraph (2) or (3) until: (1) The recipient has no surviving spouse; and (2) The recipient has no surviving child who is under age 21 or who is blind or permanently and totally disabled as defined in 42 United States Code, Section 1382c.A claim under paragraph A , subparagraph (2) must be waived if enforcement of the claim would create an undue hardship under criteria developed by the department or if the costs of collection are likely to exceed the amount recovered. A waiver may be granted in full or in part. A waiver may not be granted if the recipient or waiver applicant acted to lose, diminish, divest, encumber or otherwise transfer any value of or title to an asset for the purpose of preventing recovery under this subsection.
Massachusetts''estate'' shall mean all real and personal property and other assets includable in the decedent's probate estate under the General Laws.Chapter 118E, Section 31Any recovery may be made only after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and only at a time when the individual has no surviving child who is: (i) under the age of 21; or (ii) an individual who is blind or an individual with a disability.
MichiganMCL 400.112gThe department of community health shall not recover assets from the home of a medical assistance recipient if 1 or more of the following individuals are lawfully residing in that home: (a) The medical assistance recipient's spouse. (b) The medical assistance recipient's child who is under the age of 21 years, or is blind or permanently and totally disabled as defined in section 1614 of the social security act, 42 USC 1382c.The department of community health shall develop a definition of hardship according to section 1917(b)(3) of title XIX that includes, but is not limited to, the following: (i) An exemption for the portion of the value of the medical assistance recipient's homestead that is equal to or less than 50% of the average price of a home in the county in which the medicaid recipient's homestead is located as of the date of the medical assistance recipient's death. (ii) An exemption for the portion of an estate that is the primary income-producing asset of survivors, including, but not limited to, a family farm or business. (iii) A rebuttable presumption that no hardship exists if the hardship resulted from estate planning methods under which assets were diverted in order to avoid estate recovery.
Minnesota(1) the person's probate estate; (2) all of the person's interests or proceeds of those interests in real property the person owned as a life tenant or as a joint tenant with a right of survivorship at the time of the person's death; (3) all of the person's interests or proceeds of those interests in securities the person owned in beneficiary form as provided under sections 524.6-301 to 524.6-311 at the time of the person's death, to the extent the interests or proceeds of those interests become part of the probate estate under section 524.6-307 ; (4) all of the person's interests in joint accounts, multiple-party accounts, and pay-on-death accounts, brokerage accounts, investment accounts, or the proceeds of those accounts, as provided under sections 524.6-201 to 524.6-214 at the time of the person's death to the extent the interests become part of the probate estate under section 524.6-207 ; and (5) assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assign of the person through survivorship, living trust, transfer-on-death of title or deed, or other arrangements.256B.15If a decedent is survived by a spouse, or was single or the surviving spouse of a married couple and is survived by a child who is under age 21 or blind or permanently and totally disabled according to the Supplemental Security Income program criteria, a claim shall be filed against the estate according to this section.Any person entitled to notice in subdivision 1a has a right to apply for waiver of the claim based upon undue hardship. Any claim pursuant to this section may be fully or partially waived because of undue hardship. Undue hardship does not include action taken by the decedent which divested or diverted assets in order to avoid estate recovery.
Missouri1. Upon the death of a person, who has been a participant of aid, assistance, care, services, or who has had moneys expended on his behalf by the department of health and senior services, department of social services, or the department of mental health, or by a county commission, the total amount paid to the decedent or expended upon his behalf after January 1, 1978, shall be a debt due the state or county, as the case may be, from the estate of the decedent. The debt shall be collected as provided by the probate code of Missouri, chapters 472 , 473 , 474 and 475 .473.398The collection of the claim will adversely affect the need of the surviving spouse or dependents of the decedent to reasonable care and support from the estate.Such claim shall not be filed or allowed if it is determined that: (1) The cost of collection will exceed the amount of the claim;
Montana(1) Except as provided in subsection (7) or (9)(b), after the death of a recipient, the department shall execute and present a claim against the recipient's estate, within the time specified in the published notice to creditors in the estate proceeding, for the total amount of recoverable medical assistance paid to or on behalf of the recipient. The department is not required to initiate probate proceedings in order to present a claim in a case in which no proceeding has been commenced to probate the estate of the deceased recipient. (2) Except as prohibited by subsection (9)(b), after the death of a recipient, the department may execute and present a claim against a person who has received property of the recipient by distribution or survival for an amount equal to the recoverable medical assistance paid on behalf of the recipient or the value of the property received by the person from the recipient by distribution or survival, whichever is less.MCA 53-6-167The department may not recover under this section while there is a surviving spouse of the recipient or while there is a surviving child of the recipient who is under 21 years of age, blind, or permanently and totally disabled. This subsection (9)(b) does not preclude the department from recovering from the recipient's estate after the death of the surviving spouse or child.Upon presentation or assertion of a claim by the department under this section, the personal representative of the estate or another affected person may apply to the department, in accordance with procedures established by department rule, for a waiver of recovery based on undue hardship. The department shall waive its recovery under this section in whole or in part if it determines that recovery would result in undue hardship as defined by department rule.
NebraskaEstate of a recipient of medical assistance means any real estate, personal property, or other asset in which the recipient had any legal title or interest at or immediately preceding the time of the recipient's death, to the extent of such interests. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, the estate of a recipient of medical assistance also includes: (A) Assets to be transferred to a beneficiary described in section 77-2004 or 77-2005 in relation to the recipient through a revocable trust or other similar arrangement which has become irrevocable by reason of the recipient's death; and (B) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subdivision (3) or (4) of section 68-923 , assets conveyed or otherwise transferred to a survivor, an heir, an assignee, a beneficiary, or a devisee of the recipient of medical assistance through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, transfer on death deed, survivorship, conveyance of a remainder interest, retention of a life estate or of an estate for a period of time, living trust, or other arrangement by which value or possession is transferred to or realized by the beneficiary of the conveyance or transfer at or as a result of the recipient's death.68-919Any such debt to the department that exists when the recipient dies shall be recovered only after the death of the recipient's spouse, if any, and only after the recipient is not survived by a child who either is under twenty-one years of age or is blind or totally and permanently disabled as defined by the Supplemental Security Income criteria.The department may waive or compromise its claim, in whole or in part, if the department determines that enforcement of the claim would not be in the best interests of the state or would result in undue hardship as provided in rules and regulations of the department.
Nevada“Undivided estate” means all real and personal property and other assets included in the estate of a deceased recipient of Medicaid and any other real and personal property and other assets in or to which the deceased recipient had an interest or legal title immediately before or at the time of his or her death, to the extent of that interest or title. The term includes, without limitation, assets conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased recipient through or as the result of any joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, annuity, declaration of homestead or other arrangement.NRS 422.054; NRS 422.29302The amount of Medicaid paid to or on behalf of a person is a claim against the estate in any probate proceeding only at a time when there is no surviving spouse or surviving child who is under 21 years of age, blind or disabled.The Director may elect not to file a claim against the estate of a recipient of Medicaid or the spouse of the recipient if the Director determines that the filing of the claim will cause an undue hardship for the spouse or other survivors of the recipient. The Director shall adopt regulations defining the circumstances that constitute an undue hardship.
New Hampshirethe estate of a recipient shall include all property, real or personal, which at the time of a recipient's death was held by the recipient in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, or life estate for all such title or interest established on or after July 1, 2005. Recovery shall be limited to the value of the recipient's ownership interest and in no case shall such amount exceed the total amount of medical assistance provided to the deceased recipient, nor shall recovery extend to any interest in property, real or personal, for which a non-recipient owner paid fair market value at the time said ownership interest was acquired.RSA 167:14-aNothing in this paragraph shall be interpreted or applied so as to violate RSA 167:16-a or 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(b)(2)(A) and (B) prohibiting recovery when the recipient is survived by a spouse, minor children, or disabled children or when the recipient is survived by either siblings or children under certain circumstances.Written notice shall include a description of all categories of individuals exempt from recovery by reason of familial status as allowed under 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(b)(2) and RSA 167:16-a, IV, as well as the availability and method of requesting a hardship waiver.
New MexicoReal and personal property and other assets of an individual subject to probate or administration pursuant to the New Mexico Uniform Probate Code.8.200.430.19 NMACRecovery from an eligible recipient's estate will be made only after the death of the eligible recipient's surviving spouse, if any, and only at a time that the eligible recipient does not have surviving child who is less than 21 years of age, blind, or who meet the SSA definition of disability.Hardship provision: HCA, or its designee, may waive recovery because recovery would work an undue hardship on the heirs. The following are deemed to be causes for hardship: (a) the deceased recipient's heir would become eligible for a needs-based assistance program such as medicaid or temporary assistance to needy families (TANF) or be put at risk of serious deprivation without the receipt of the proceeds of the estate; (b) the deceased eligible recipient's heir would be able to discontinue reliance on a needs-based program (such as medicaid or TANF) if they received the inheritance from the estate; (c) the deceased recipient’s assets which are subject to recovery are the sole income source for the heir; (d) the homestead is worth 50 percent or less than the average price of a home in the county where the home is located based on census data compared to the property tax value of the home; or (e) there are other compelling circumstances as determined by HCA or its designee.
New Yorkall real and personal property and other assets included within the individual's estate and passing under the terms of a valid will or by intestacyN.Y. Soc. Serv. Law § 369Any such adjustment or recovery shall be made only after the death of the individual's surviving spouse, if any, and only at a time when the individual has no surviving child who is under twenty-one years of age or is blind or permanently and totally disabledwaived in cases of undue hardship, as determined pursuant to the regulations of the department in accordance with criteria established by the secretary of the federal department of health and human services
North CarolinaEstate. - All the real and personal property considered assets of the estate available for the discharge of debt pursuant to G.S. 28A-15-1. The Department has all rights available to estate creditors, including the right to qualify as personal representative or collector of an estate. For individuals who have received benefits under a qualified long-term care partnership policy as described in G.S. 108A-70.4, this term also includes any other real and personal property and other assets in which the individual had any legal title or interest at the time of death (to the extent of the interest), including assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assign of the deceased individual through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, or other arrangement.G.S. 108A-70.5rules to waive whole or partial recovery when this recovery would be inequitable because it would work an undue hardship or because it would not be administratively cost-effective
North DakotaAll assets in the decedent's estate of the spouse of a deceased medical assistance recipient are presumed to be assets in which that recipient had an interest at the time of the recipient's death.N.D.C.C. § 50-24.1-07A claim may not be required to be paid nor may interest begin to accrue during the lifetime of the decedent's surviving spouse, if any, nor while there is a surviving child who is under the age of twenty-one years or is blind or permanently and totally disabled
Ohio"Estate" includes both of the following: (a) All real and personal property and other assets to be administered under Title XXI of the Revised Code and property that would be administered under that title if not for section 2113.03 or 2113.031 of the Revised Code; (b) Any other real and personal property and other assets in which an individual had any legal title or interest at the time of death (to the extent of the interest), including assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assign of the individual through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, or other arrangement.Section 5162.21No adjustment or recovery may be made under division (B)(1) of this section from a permanently institutionalized individual's estate or on the sale of property of a permanently institutionalized individual that is subject to a lien imposed under section 5162.211 of the Revised Code or under division (B)(2) or (3) of this section from an individual's estate while either of the following are alive: (a) The spouse of the permanently institutionalized individual or individual; (b) The son or daughter of a permanently institutionalized individual or individual if the son or daughter is under age twenty-one or, under the "Social Security Act," section 1614, 42 U.S.C. 1382c, is considered blind or disabled.The department shall, in accordance with procedures and criteria established in rules authorized by division (G) of this section, waive seeking an adjustment or recovery otherwise required by this section if the medicaid director determines that adjustment or recovery would work an undue hardship. The department may limit the duration of the waiver to the period during which the undue hardship exists.
Oregon“Estate” includes all real and personal property and other assets in which the deceased individual had any legal title or interest at the time of death including assets conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased individual through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust or other similar arrangement.ORS 416.350Claim for such medical assistance correctly paid to or on behalf of the individual may be established against the estate, but the claim may not be adjusted or recovered until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and only at a time when the individual has no surviving child who is under 21 years of age or who is blind or permanently and totally disabled.
Pennsylvania(a) All estate property is subject to the Department’s claim. Estate property includes all real and personal property of a decedent which is subject to administration by a decedent’s personal representative, whether actually administered or not administered. (b) Property held by a decedent and another at the time of death as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, or as tenants by the entireties, is not subject to the Department’s claim.55 Pa. Code Chapter 258(a) The Department will postpone collection of its claim until the last of one of the following occurs: (1) The death of any surviving spouse. (2) The death of any child who is blind or totally and permanently disabled, as determined under the standards of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program in the Social Security Act. See 42 U.S.C.A. § 1382. (3) The date any surviving child is 21 years of age. (4) The death of, property transfer by or vacating of the property by a sibling who has an equity interest in the property and who has been living in the home for at least 1 year prior to the death of the decedent.(a) The Department will waive its claim in cases of undue hardship. (b) The Department will find undue hardship and will permanently waive its claim with respect to the primary residence of a decedent if the person requesting the undue hardship waiver meets all of the following conditions: (1) The person has continuously resided in the primary residence of the decedent for at least 2 years immediately preceding the decedent’s receipt of nursing facility services, or, for at least 2 years during the period of time which Medicaid-funded home and community based services were received. (2) The person has no other alternative permanent residence. (3) The person has provided care or support to the decedent for at least 2 years during the period of time that Medicaid-funded home and community based services were received by the decedent, or for at least 2 years prior to the decedent’s receipt of nursing home services during which time the decedent needed care or support to remain at home
Rhode IslandFor purposes of this section, the term “estate” with respect to a deceased individual shall include all real and personal property and other assets included or includable within the individual’s probate estate.R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-8-15The lien shall not be effective and shall not attach as against the estate of a beneficiary who is survived by a spouse, or a child who is under the age of twenty-one (21), or a child who is blind or permanently and totally disabled as defined in Title XVI of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq.The executive office shall establish procedures, in accordance with the standards specified by the Secretary, United States Department of Health and Human Services, under which the executive office shall waive, in whole or in part, the lien and reimbursement established by this section if the lien and reimbursement would cause an undue hardship, as determined by the executive office, on the basis of the criteria established by the secretary in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b)(3).
South Carolina"Estate" means real property, personal property, and other assets included within the individual's estate as defined in Section 62-1-201(11).SECTION 43-7-460Recovery under this section may be made only after the death of the decedent's surviving spouse, if one exists, and only at a time when the decedent has no surviving child under age twenty-one or no child who is blind or permanently and totally disabled as defined in Title XVI of the Social Security Act.Recovery under this section must be waived by the department upon proof of undue hardship, asserted by an heir or devisee of the property claimed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)(3) and in accordance with the guidance issued by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services in the State Medicaid Manual as incorporated into the state plan.
Vermont33 V.S.A. § 1906aNo recovery of medical expenses shall be made under this subchapter against a homestead, provided that the homestead would pass to one or more lineal heirs or siblings of the decedent who either have income below 300 percent of the federal poverty level or who have contributed significantly, monetarily or otherwise, to the decedent so as to allow the decedent to delay or avoid nursing home placement.
Virginia(i) all real and personal property and other assets held by the individual at the time of death and (ii) any other real and personal property and other assets in which the individual had any legal title or interest (to the extent of such interest) at the time of his death.12VAC30-20-141Adjustment or recovery can only be made after the death of the individual's surviving spouse, if any, and only at a time when the individual has no surviving child under age 21, or a blind or disabled child as defined in § 1614 of the Act.Whenever estate recovery would work an undue hardship on the deceased individual's heirs, the Commonwealth shall waive adjustment or recovery. Recovery from deceased individuals' estates shall be waived when the heirs are themselves Medicaid eligible.
Washingtonthe department shall seek adjustment or recovery from the individual's estate, and from nonprobate assets of the individual as defined by RCW 11.02.005 , but only for medical assistance consisting of nursing facility services, home and community-based services, other services that the department determines to be appropriate, and related hospital and prescription drug services.RCW 43.20B.080The department shall recognize an undue hardship for a surviving domestic partner whenever recovery would not have been permitted if he or she had been a surviving spouse. The department is not authorized to pursue recovery under such circumstances.The department shall establish procedures consistent with standards established by the federal department of health and human services and pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396p to waive recovery when such recovery would work an undue hardship.
West Virginiathe department, in addition to any other available remedy, may file a claim or lien against the estate of the recipient for the total amount of medical assistance provided by Medicaid for nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services provided for the benefit of the recipient. Claims so filed shall be classified as and included in the class of debts due the state.§9-5-11cThe department may recover pursuant to subsection (a) only after the death of the individual's surviving spouse, if any and only after such time as the individual has no surviving children under the age of twenty-one, or when the individual has no surviving children who meet the Social Security Act's definition of blindness or permanent and total disability.A claim may be waived by the department, if the department determines, pursuant to applicable federal law and rules and regulations, that the claim will cause substantial hardship to the surviving dependents of the deceased.
Wisconsin“Property of a decedent” means all real and personal property to which the recipient held any legal title or in which the recipient had any legal interest immediately before death, to the extent of that title or interest, including assets transferred to a survivor, heir, or assignee through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, revocable trust, or any other arrangement, excluding an irrevocable trust.Wis. Stat. § 49.496A claim under par. (a) is not allowable if the decedent has a surviving child who is under age 21 or disabled or a surviving spouse.
Wyoming"Estate" shall include all real and personal property and other assets included within the individual's estate, as defined for purposes of this state's probate law, and includes any other real and personal property and other assets in which the individual had any legal title or interest at the time of death to the extent of that interest, including such assets conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased individual through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement.Wyo. Stat. § 42-4-206If a decedent who was single, or who was the surviving spouse of a married couple, is survived by a child who has not attained twenty-one (21) years of age or is blind or permanently and totally disabled as defined by 42 U.S.C. § 1382c, no claim shall be filed against the estate.The department of health shall establish procedures, in accordance with standards specified by the secretary of health and human services, under which the department of health shall waive the application of this section if application would work an undue hardship on the basis of criteria established by the secretary.

Where this came from

Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 35 sources this dataset was assembled from.

Machine-readable

From your own code

Same records, same quotes, without scraping the page: refsource is on PyPI and npm. Each value comes back carrying the URL it was read from and the sentence on that page that states it — .source and .quote sit on the value itself rather than in a side channel, so the checking step is available instead of skipped.

pip install refsource
refsource lookup medicaid-estate-recovery-rules-by-state state=Arizona

npx -y refsource lookup medicaid-estate-recovery-rules-by-state state=Arizona

Set your AI assistant up to use this

Two files and no account. Put this in .mcp.json at the root of your project — Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code and Codex all read that file — and your assistant can look this dataset up instead of recalling it. The server is remote, keyless and read-only.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "referencesource": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add to Cursor · or, on the command line: claude mcp add --transport http referencesource https://referencesource.org/mcp --scope project

Then one line in the project's CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md, so the assistant knows when to reach for it:

When a question needs "Medicaid Estate Recovery Rules by State", call the referencesource MCP server at https://referencesource.org/mcp (tool `search_records`, dataset_slug `medicaid-estate-recovery-rules-by-state`) instead of answering from memory — every record it returns carries its source URL and a verbatim quote from that page.

What each tool does, and the servers built over single registers: Connect your AI assistant.

35 records. last verified against source . due for re-check by .

Licence. public-domain-facts