MaineCare's estate-recovery process is federally required — the state seeks reimbursement from a deceased recipient's estate for specific long-term-care and related medical costs. Maine's own published materials identify nursing-facility services, home- and community-based services, related hospital services, and related prescription drugs as the categories subject to this recovery.
What makes Maine notably different from a conventional probate-only approach is Title 22 §14, which defines "estate" to include not just probate property but also any other real or personal property in which the recipient held a legal interest at death — explicitly naming property passing through tenancy in common, survivorship, a life estate, a living trust, or joint tenancy in personal property. The one specific carve-out: the statute excludes joint tenancy in real property from that expanded definition.
Sources and official resources
- Maine DHHS: MaineCare for Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities
- U.S. Code: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p (liens, estate recovery, transfers of assets, Partnership disregard)
Rules and figures change. Confirm current details with the agency before you act.