Health & Benefits

If the person received long-term care under Medicaid, the state government may file a claim against their probate A court process where a person's property is given out after they die estate. All of the property a person owns at their death In particular, Medicaid may file a claim against the beneficiary’s A person that gets property or money from someone when they die estate for the value of the medical assistance provided to them after they reached age 55. This means they are saying the deceased person’s estate owes the state money because they received long-term care while they were alive.

The state cannot recover from a deceased Medicaid recipient's estate All of the property a person owns at their death if the recipient has:

• A surviving spouse,
  A surviving child or children under age 21, or
  a blind or disabled child of any age.

Also, the state cannot recover from an estate when:

• The estate is valued at $25,000 or less, or
• The cost of selling the deceased’s property is more than the property is worth.

Some personal property can be exempt from collection by the state, such as life insurance policies with named beneficiaries and accounts that are payable on death. 

Illinois no longer uses liens on real estate Property consisting of land or buildings like a house or an apartment to recover for Medicaid assistance.

However, liens put on real estate before June 2, 2022, can still be used to recover Medicaid assistance. The state should not have put a lien on real estate if any of the following people were living in the home:

• The spouse,
• A child under age 21,
• A blind or disabled child of any age,
• A sibling with an equity Amount that is left after a person pays off their loan interest in the home, or
• A child caregiver who meets certain requirements.

People can ask for a waiver of this lien if it means that a family member will suffer financial hardship. Specifically, the heir Anyone who receives property from someone who has died or beneficiary A person that gets property or money from someone when they die must show that recovery would cause them to become or remain eligible for state benefits such as Supplemental Security Income A federal program that gives money to low-income elderly, blind and disabled people on a monthly basis (SSI) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).