State Medicaid offices target dead people’s homes to recoup their health care costs

By AMANDA SEITZ
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans rely on Medicaid when fighting diseases. But there’s a catch. Often, states try to recoup the costs after the recipients die. That could mean a big bill — even the sale of their homes. The federal government requires every state to recover money from the assets of dead people who, in their final years, relied on Medicaid for long-term care. Now, critics want the federal government to stop doing that because, they say, the program collects a bit of money from the poorest people. States, they say, should do more to tell people they’re putting their homes at risk when they sign up for Medicaid.