# Massachusetts — Medicaid Estate Recovery Rules by State

For Massachusetts, what counts as the estate is ''estate'' shall mean all real and personal property and other assets includable in the decedent's probate estate under the General Laws; survivor protections is Any 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; citation is Chapter 118E, Section 31, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** Massachusetts _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **What counts as the estate:** ''estate'' shall mean all real and personal property and other assets includable in the decedent's probate estate under the General Laws. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Survivor protections:** Any 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. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Citation:** Chapter 118E, Section 31 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> (b1/2) This subsection shall apply to estates of individuals dying on or after August 1, 2024. There shall be no adjustments or recovery of medical assistance correctly paid except for recovery from the estate of an individual who was: (i) regardless of age, a resident in a nursing facility or other medical institution within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. 1396p(a)(1)(B)(i) when the individual received such assistance; provided, however, that recovery of such assistance shall be limited to assistance provided on or after March 22, 1991; or (ii) 55 years of age or older when the individual received such assistance, where such assistance was for services provided on or after October 1, 1993, but only for medical assistance consisting of nursing facility services, home and community-based services and related hospital and prescription drug services for which estate recovery is mandated under 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)(1)(B)(i) or other federal law.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### What counts as the estate

> (c) For purposes of this section, ''estate'' shall mean all real and personal property and other assets includable in the decedent's probate estate under the General Laws.

### Survivor protections

> Any 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.

## Source

- https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVII/Chapter118E/Section31

Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2027-08-31.
Part of [Medicaid Estate Recovery Rules by State](https://referencesource.org/medicaid-estate-recovery-rules-by-state/).