Federal law requires every state to run a Medicaid estate-recovery program, and Arkansas DHS implements that requirement by filing a claim against a deceased Medicaid recipient's estate when that person received long-term-care services. DHS is explicit that the claim will never exceed the total amount Medicaid actually paid for that person's long-term-care services.
Recovery generally applies to people who were 55 or older when they received nursing-home, ICF/MR, or home- and community-based waiver services. There's also a narrower category covering people under 55 who were permanently institutionalized in a nursing home or ICF/MR — the same recovery framework reaches those cases too. DHS's guide includes an undue-hardship review process along with certain family protections built into how a claim can be pursued.
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