[vision-master]

Medicaid Estate Recovery Act

http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/estaterec.htm

Everyone in the USA needs to be aware of this law.

Your children could loose your Estate to the State after you pass on.

No, you don't need to end up as ward of the State in a nursing home.

This law is clearly targeting the poor.

Please protect your assets now, put your Estate into a Irrevocable Trust.

[SeaGypsy]

Man that is probably the most convoluted piece of crap legislation I have ever seen. The current recovery rates, considering the legal capacity of the States, are pathetic. It is fair warning under the current and ongoing fiasco of state finances that this legislation could result in a massive run of claims most folks would not even know are possible. Imagine that years after your oldie dies, the State can show up with a bill demanding the deed for your house in lieu of payment for said oldie's nursing home care. That's what this law says. You are right Vision, this is scary and everyone should know about it and make sure their bases are covered. Shocking.

[vision-master]

My niece is loosing a 20 acre estate due to this law. So much for the grand-kids education - gone.....

[dolanbaker]

That's not unique to the US, there is similar provision to claim on the estate of the deceased here in Ireland and also in the UK. To get round it, you really have to sell everything to your children years in advance, and just hope they're sensible with it!

[SeaGypsy]

Seems that if you die suddenly at home you are ok, but if you go inyo state care on short notice, you are up the creek in the barbed wire canoe.

[careinke]

Well this law was part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA 93). Bill Clinton was in office, every Republican voted against it, and the deciding vote in the Senate was cast by none other than Al Gore. You reap what you sow.

[PrestonSturges]

Under Romney/Ryan these laws will become downright brutal.

Time for these slackers to get out of hospice and reenter the workforce.

[Plantagenet]

This kind of thing is built into these liberal social programs. Anyone who thinks these liberal social programs are "free" is dreaming.

The estate recovery process was built into Medicaid from the very start in 1965. The liberals set it up this way.

Same thing with the government subsidized student loans----its a liberal social program run amuck. The Obama administration is even taking away social security money from seniors to repay student loans if folks still owe money on a student loan, or if they co-signed on the loan with their child and now the child can't get a job and can't repay the student loan.

[PrestonSturges]

If the GOP wins, countries like Rwanda will be able to ridicule us.

[Plantagenet]

Medicaid Estate Recovery Act Everyone in the USA needs to be aware of this law. Your children could loose your Estate to the State after you pass on. No, you don't need to end up as ward of the State in a nursing home.

The rules on this vary by state. Some states (California, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin) are very aggressive in trying to get repaid---others (Texas) don't go after people's homes at all.

Here is some info I found on the net.

MERP - Medicaid Estate Recovery Program:
States may file post-death liens or claims against the real and personal property of persons who were permanently institutionalized and those who received Medicaid services through a federally required program called MERP. Medicaid is a joint state and federal program that is needs based and after the person who used the program dies and there is an estate, then the state has the option to recoup or recover some of the costs through MERP.
Post-death liens or claims are often and usually a part of the probate process.
The laws of some states (e.g., California, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin) specify Medicaid as the primary creditor and establish its primacy relative to other claims against the estate, while other states regard Medicaid as a creditor under provisions for “reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses for the last illness of the decedent.” Some state laws (e.g., those of Florida and Texas) protect the decedent’s home by placing certain interests of survivors ahead of the claims of others, including Medicaid. For Texas, MERP is a class 7 claim – which means there are 6 other categories that get paid first when probate is being settled. Because of this, MERP is low in TX.
How MERP gets done and what you can do, depends on the state. All states have MERP exemptions. Many, many people qualify for the exemptions BUT you have to let MERP know within a very specific time-frame that you will file for an exemption. If you don't, you are probably out-of-luck. Each state has the rules or regulations on their website - the feds require that they do. But you have to be proactive to protect your interest and file the needed paperwork.
Medicaid estate recovery gets to the heart of the issue of who should pay for long-term care -- the public through the tax-supported Medicaid program, or users of long-term care through their personal resources, including those remaining after death. Amounts collected from Medicaid recipients' estates are not insignificant in absolute terms. They do, however, pale next to total Medicaid spending for long-term care. This is not surprising, given that Medicaid is available only to those with very limited resources. Nevertheless, the wide state-to-state variation in recovery rates and estate recovery practices suggests that program efficiency could be improved and even greater amounts could be recovered from estates of Medicaid recipients. A lot of states are doing this by giving the MERP contract to the HMS corporation....

[Fishman]

"If the GOP wins, countries like Rwanda will be able to ridicule us."
Preston is clearly working for the Obama election folks.
No part of his comment is relevant to the conversation. Ridiculous hyperbole. Look over there, pay no attention to the Medicaid Recovery Act (or the Affordable Care Act, or the failed Obama stimulus, or the failed presidency), another liberal method to suck you wallet dry.

[vision-master]

Seems that if you die suddenly at home you are ok, but if you go inyo state care on short notice, you are up the creek in the barbed wire canoe.

No, she died at home suddenly........

[vision-master]

She never used long-term care......... just the xtra help available through the County for low-income ppl. She lived on $1,200 Month.

[vision-master]

Under Romney/Ryan these laws will become downright brutal.

Time for these slackers to get out of hospice and reenter the workforce.

I can see it now.......... Medicare Estate Recovery Act!

[vision-master]

This kind of thing is built into these liberal social programs. Anyone who thinks these liberal social programs are "free" is dreaming. The estate recovery process was built into Medicaid from the very start in 1965. The liberals set it up this way.
Same thing with the government subsidized student loans----its a liberal social program run amuck. The Obama administration is even taking away social security money from seniors to repay student loans if folks still owe money on a student loan, or if they co-signed on the loan with their child and now the child can't get a job and can't repay the student loan.

Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states.[1] People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, including low-income adults, their children, and people with certain disabilities. Poverty alone does not necessarily qualify someone for Medicaid. Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for people with limited income in the United States.

Medicaid Estate Recovery is the process initiated by U.S. state governments for recovering payments they made under the Medicaid program to program beneficiaries. The government recovers the sum of payments from the estate at the time of death of the program beneficiary.

The recovery is authorized and required by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.[1]

[PrestonSturges]

"If the GOP wins, countries like Rwanda will be able to ridicule us."
Preston is clearly working for the Obama election folks.
No part of his comment is relevant to the conversation. Ridiculous hyperbole. Look over there, pay no attention to the Medicaid Recovery Act (or the Affordable Care Act, or the failed Obama stimulus, or the failed presidency), another liberal method to suck you wallet dry.

I think we are going to be the object of ridicule by third world countries and dictatorships.

You and Plant can go amuse yourself fingerpainting the walls of public bathrooms Text deleted', because your contempt for others is surely rooted in self loathing and a sense of complete personal failure.

[vision-master]

Ridiculous hyperbole. Look over there, pay no attention to the Medicaid Recovery Act (or the Affordable Care Act, or the failed Obama stimulus, or the failed presidency), another liberal method to suck you wallet dry.

I think we are going to be the object of ridicule by third world countries and dictatorships.

Ryan Plan (Medicare)......
•Each patient would select from the approved list a plan best matching his or her expected healthcare needs for the coming year. Medicare would reimburse the health plan a fixed amount of money for each enrollee for premium payment support. If the Medicare-provided assistance exceeded the premium required for the selected plan, that excess would be credited to a "Medical Savings Account" (MSA) for the beneficiary's future use.

•Ryan currently estimates the reimbursement amount at an average $11,000 -- with further adjustment determined by income level. Higher-income patients would receive less premium assistance. Beneficiaries with annual incomes below $80,000 ($160,000 for couples) would receive full standard payment amounts; beneficiaries with annual incomes between $80,000 and $200,000 ($160,000 to $400,000 for couples) would receive 50 percent of the standard; and beneficiaries with incomes above $200,000 ($400,000 for couples) would receive 30 percent.


I can see it now, Medicare Recovery Act! Property liens on J6P for premium assistance due to low-income.

[Plantagenet]

Yo vision:

It would be nice if healthcare was free, but it just isn't that way. Take Medicare for example.

You said at the beginning of this thread that your niece lost a 20 acre estate when those nice liberal folks who provide the "free" Medicare suddenly wanted to be paid back for all the free care.

Was there also a house on the 20 acres?

If its not too personal, just how much money did your family actually wind up losing when Medicare put a lien on the 20 acre estate to get paid back for all the"free" government healthcare???

[AdTheNad]

It's quite impressive in a way, how the neo cons have managed to reduce inheritance tax on the rich while increasing it on the poor.

[careinke]

It's quite impressive in a way, how the neo cons have managed to reduce inheritance tax on the rich while increasing it on the poor.

In what universe do you live in? The law was passed under Clinton and was voted NO (you do understand No, don't you?) by EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN and some dems. So tell me again how this is the Reps fault, they voted against it.