Ohio Department of Aging
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Certain paid Medicaid benefits, including costs related to the PASSPORT program, may be recovered from the estate of a recipient after that recipient dies. Estate Recovery is required by the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, and by Section 5111.11 of the Ohio Revised Code. All Medicaid services provided to persons age 55 or older are subject to recovery, including physician visits, outpatient visits, home and community-based waiver services (such as
During probate, the legal process to settle an individual's estate, creditors file claims to ensure payment of a debt owed to them. Both the state and other creditors are paid before any assets are distributed to heirs or beneficiaries whether or not there is a will. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) works with the state Attorney General to recover what Medicaid has paid for the recipient's care. An estate is real and personal property, such as a house, land, cars and bank accounts. Only probated assets from the estate are subject to recovery.
Estate recovery may not occur immediately if the individual has a surviving spouse, a surviving child under age 21 or a surviving child of any age who is blind or totally disabled. If the deceased owned assets with a spouse under a survivorship deed (where a surviving joint owner inherits the share from the deceased), these assets are not included a part of estate recovery. In certain circumstances when recovery from the estate is found to create an undue hardship, the right to immediate recovery may be waived by the state.
For more information about estate recovery, contact your county Office of Job and Family Services.
Ohio Department of Aging