Changes to Medical Assistance Recovery
In 1967, Minnesota instituted a medical assistance (MA) estate recovery program. The program authorized counties to recover the cost paid for MA services received by a deceased person. In June of 2016, new legislation was passed which limits the number of MA services that can be recovered by the counties. The new legislation limits the number of MA services which are recoverable against an estate if the decedent received MA services on or after January 1, 2014. Specifically, recovery is limited to cost of Long Term Care (LTC) that a decedent received from January 1, 2014 to the present. LTC services include nursing facility services, home and community based services and hospital and pharmacy services.
This reduction in the number of recoverable services applies to all outstanding MA claims that have not been paid by July 1, 2016. If a MA claim has not been paid or filed by July 1, 2016, the county may recover only the cost of the following services received by the decedent who was 55 years or older at the time the service was provided:
- All MA services received before January 1, 2014
- MA LTC services from January 1, 2014 to the present.
Although this law was adopted by Minnesota, it is not effective until federal approval is received. If and when federal approval is received, the change will apply retroactively to January 1, 2014 and to claims that have not been paid by July 1, 2016.
For more information about this topic contact Steven Fink at Farrish Johnson Law Office.
This webpage contains general information and not legal advice. It is based on Minnesota law in effect at the time of writing. An attorney at Farrish Johnson can advise you about how the law applies to your specific situation.
