Limits Medicaid Estate Recovery to Required Costs
Virginia · HB855 · Introduced Jan 13, 2026
Why it matters
Families of deceased Medicaid enrollees could keep more of an estate, since recovery would be narrower. Heirs facing serious hardship could also get a permanent waiver of the state's claim.
What it does
- Limits recovery from estates to federally required costs for Medicaid-paid nursing facility care
- Caps recovery at the total Medicaid payments made for the person's covered services
- Lets the state waive a claim if collecting would cause substantial hardship to heirs or dependents
- Repeals a separate Virginia Code section on estate recovery
- Requires the state to post hardship waiver information in six languages, including English and Spanish
Status
Latest action (2026-07-21): Continued from last session
About this bill
Would limit the state's Medicaid estate recovery to federally required costs for nursing home care. The Department of Medical Assistance Services would carry it out, and hardship waivers would be allowed.
Medicaid; estate recoveries.
Perspectives
💬 The case for
Some elder law and family advocacy groups would likely say narrower recovery protects heirs from losing homes and savings. Hardship waivers would give relief to families in serious financial trouble.
💬 The case against
Some state budget groups would likely say limiting recovery reduces money returned to Medicaid. They may argue the state would pay more for care that could otherwise be repaid.
Sponsored by
Sponsor details for this state bill are at the source link.
News
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