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MAIN
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A Joint Project of the Maine
Association of Interdependent Neighborhoods |
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Volume 9 No. 2 |
August 2005 |
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MAIN
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|
|
|
A Joint Project of the Maine
Association of Interdependent Neighborhoods |
|||
|
Volume 9 No. 2 |
August 2005 |
||
Changes in MaineCare’s Estate Recovery PolicyWhen a MaineCare member age 55 or older passes away, the State can recover funds from that person’s estate to pay MaineCare back for the cost of his or her care. This is called estate recovery.
The legislature has made one change to MaineCare’s estate recovery policy that may be important to MAIN members. In the past, the state could not take any property that was transferred to a spouse or dependent child (unless they died within four months of the member’s death). Under the new law, after the spouse or dependent child (a person who is blind, disabled or under age 21) dies, the State can recover from that person’s estate any funds that were transferred from the Medicaid recipient. The state can also recover transferred funds from a non-disabled child when he or she turns 21. The first $100,000 in the estate that is passed to a spouse or dependent child is exempt from recovery.
For more information about estate recovery in MaineCare call the Legal Services for the Elderly hotline at 1-800-750-5353.
