Estates and Trusts Commons^™

Selective Issues In Effective Medicaid Estate Recovery Statutes, Raymond C. O'Brien

Catholic University Law Review

Medicaid is a joint federal-state partnership program that provides medical care to the elderly, blind, and disabled poor. Unlike Medicare, Medicaid will pay for long-term care, leading millions of persons in need of such care to “spend-down” income or assets to qualify as sufficiently needy or poor. However, the state can eventually seek recovery of expenditures made through estate recovery programs following the death of both spouses. As it currently stands, states have no choice but to become increasingly vigilant in pursuing private funds in order to pay for Medicaid expenditures. As a result, elderly citizens and their families will …