---
title: "Tennessee Medicaid Estate Recovery | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/tennessee/medicaid-estate-recovery/
description: "TennCare recovery follows death for qualifying CHOICES members, with waiver and hardship processes."
last_updated: 2026-10-20
author: George A. Mellendorf, CLTC, LTCP (Central States Insurance Services, Inc.)
publisher: Funding LTC Marketplace
note: Educational content; not legal, tax or financial advice. Markdown copy of the HTML page at the URL above.
---
Tennessee · Estate Recovery

# Tennessee Medicaid Estate Recovery

Last updated 2026-10-20

TennCare is clear that estate recovery happens only after a member's death, and family members aren't personally on the hook for the debt. For any CHOICES Group 1, 2, or 3 member who received care at 55 or older, the state says it must pursue recovery unless a statutory waiver or an undue-hardship exception applies.

One detail families often miss: TennCare's recovery includes the long-term-care portion of the managed-care premium paid on the member's behalf, even in a month where the member used less care than that premium amount covered. That means trying to estimate recovery just by counting actual home-care hours or facility days used will usually understate the real number.

## Sources and official resources

- [TennCare: CHOICES](https://www.tn.gov/tenncare/long-term-services-supports/choices.html)
- [U.S. Code: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p (liens, estate recovery, transfers of assets, Partnership disregard)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396p)

Rules and figures change. Confirm current details with the agency before you act.

[← Back to the full Tennessee guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/tennessee/)