Many Americans rely on Medicaid when fighting diseases. But there's a catch. Often, states try to recoup the costs after the recipients die.

As Salvatore LoGrande fought cancer and all the pain that came with it, his daughters promised to keep him in the white, pitched roof house he worked so hard to buy all those decades ago.

So, Sandy LoGrande thought it was a mistake when, a year after her father’s death, Massachusetts billed her $177,000 for her father’s Medicaid expenses and threatened to sue for his home if she didn’t pay up quickly.

“The home was everything,” to her father said LoGrande, 57.

But the bill and accompanying threat weren’t a mistake.

Rather, it was part of a routine process the federal government requires of every state: to recover money from the assets of dead people who, in their final years, relied on Medicaid, the taxpayer-funded health insurance for the poorest Americans.

A person’s home is typically exempt from qualifying for Medicaid. But it is subject to the estate recovery process for those who were over 55 and used Medicaid to pay for long-term care such as nursing home stays or in-home health care.

This month, a Democratic lawmaker proposed scuttling the “cruel” program altogether. Critics argue the program collects too little — roughly 1% — of the more than $150 billion Medicaid spends yearly on long-term care. They also say many states fail to warn people who sign up for Medicaid that big bills and claims to their property might await their families once they die.

  • @voracitude
    43•4 months ago

    The bill to end this practice was brought by U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09). I had no idea this was a thing, it’s asinine as fuck to take poor peoples’ inheritance. Especially to pay for public medical care which would be free if the patient were younger, and double especially when it’s a literal drop in the ocean to the government.

    It really is horrifically cruel, to go on taking from people who have just lost someone. I hope this bill succeeds; I will be calling my rep to confirm they’re voting for it. I’m also thinking about calling Schakowsky’s office and thanking her for advancing this one; I think people will call when they’re upset but almost never to say “good job!”, and there should be more of that.

    • @Burn_The_Right
      11•4 months ago

      A bill against cruelty absolutely cannot pass a conservative majority. Conservatives thrive on cruelty. This bill needs to be brought up during a Dem trifecta or it cannot pass.