Medicaid Estate Recovery MUST END [Video]

For my Husband’s 55th birthday last year, Mass Health sent us a letter about our home officially going into lien status for recovery of costs associated with medicaid. The clock is ticking, and it has not stopped ticking in my head since then. We were planning to leave the house to the kids because it is all we will have when we die.

I understand that medical and nursing care is a great deal of work for caretakers.My argument is not against proper reimbursement for those facilities and caregivers, and it is not my intention to minimize the importance of their job to simply “ass wiping”.
My point is that it’s disproportionate (and downright cruel) to put a lien on everything people have worked for their entire lives as a means to repay medical assistance. The time needed in medical facilities is not even remotely comparable to the time spent to build a life of our own. Whether you have children or not, no one should have to worry about losing their entire life’s work and dedication for medical assistance or end of life care.
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Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the House Democratic Task Force on Aging and Families, reintroduced the Stop Unfair Medicaid Recoveries Act of 2024. This legislation would repeal the federal mandate that requires state Medicaid programs to go after families and estates for repayment of Medicaid long-term care services.

Current federal law requires state Medicaid programs to seek repayment of Medicaid long-term care benefits, even if the state would prefer not to seek that recovery. The Medicaid program’s claim is enforced against the heirs of the deceased Medicaid recipient.
“Our nation must implement a real long-term care policy,” Schakowsky continued. “Medicaid is the only public benefit program that requires states to seek repayment for long-term care services. In many cases, Medicaid estate recovery keeps families in poverty and forces seniors and disabled individuals to forego care. Further, Medicaid estate recovery disproportionately harms low-income, blue-collar families and communities of color. That is why I have re-introduced the Stop Unfair Medicaid Recoveries Act, which would ban states from going after the families of deceased Medicaid recipients. Practices like putting liens on Medicaid recipients’ homes before their death would also be prohibited. Let’s give our seniors and their families dignity and peace of mind. This current system, which only recovers less than 1% of total long-term care spending, is ineffective and unjust, and it must end.”