MACPAC engaged the LTSS Center to assess the potential value of the estates of diseased Medicaid beneficiaries.
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) recommended recently that Congress change current law to make it optional, rather than mandatory, for states to try to recover money from the estates of deceased Medicaid beneficiaries who received long-term services and supports (LTSS) before they died.
Research conducted by the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston helped to inform the comprehensive analysis completed by MACPAC.
Since 1993, federal law has required states to try to recover a portion of funds spent on LTSS from the estates of deceased Medicaid beneficiaries. A portion of recovered funds is returned to the federal government. States reported collecting about $733 million through their recovery efforts in 2019.
MACPAC engaged the LTSS Center to assess the potential value of the estates of Medicaid beneficiaries who had died in recent years. The LTSS Center analysis, conducted by Co-Director Marc Cohen and research fellow Jane Tavares, highlighted the fact that most estates have little to give back—so little, in fact, that recovery is often not worth the effort.
The commission also concluded that current mandatory recovery efforts place an unfair burden on Medicaid beneficiaries of limited means.
For more details about the study, visit the Gerontology Institute Blog.
The research underlying the blog was completed with support from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). The findings, statements, and views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of MACPAC.