H.1168/S.726: An Act Protecting the Homes of Seniors and Disabled People on MassHealth

Lead Sponsors: Rep. Christine Barber, Sen. Jo Comerford

Status Update: Reported favorably out of committee, now in Senate Ways and Means

Estate recovery is the practice of MassHealth recouping the cost of medical services from the deceased enrollee's family. While mandated by federal law, estate recovery is made even more aggressive by requirements under Massachusetts law. It can result in the sale of the family home, causing excessive financial burden and perpetuating poverty, especially among communities of color and people with disabilities. In many cases, the family is unaware of this burden as MassHealth has not historically informed applicants or members about estate recovery upon enrollment. This bill seeks to address this issue by making changes to the estate recovery rules to make the statute more equitable for low-income enrollees and families.

H.1168/S.726 establishes that MassHealth can only recover costs that are federally mandated, limits the recovery for capitated payments, requires notice to applicants and enrollees about estate recovery, establishes criteria for granting undue hardship waivers, expands the obligation to provide information on estate recovery limitations, and exempts the CommonHealth program for disabled adults from estate recovery.

For more information, contact Charlie Carr at charlescarr@dpcma.org or 1 (978) 361-6682.