Quick answer: Texas's Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) files a probate claim against the estate of a recipient who was 55 or older when they got covered long-term care services. It applies to people who first applied for those services on or after March 1, 2005.
Texas runs a probate-only Medicaid Estate Recovery Program — it doesn't reach into every non-probate asset the way an expanded-estate model would. HHSC describes MERP as a Class 7 probate claim filed against a deceased recipient's estate, governed by the Texas Estates Code and the Chapter 373 administrative rules (HHSC MERP handbook).
MERP went into effect in Texas on March 1, 2005, according to HHSC, and it applies specifically when a recipient was 55 or older at the time covered services were received, and when they first applied for those covered long-term-care services on or after that March 2005 date (HHSC MERP handbook).
Texas figures
- MERP implementation date
- March 1, 2005
- Age threshold for recovery scope
- 55 or older
Sources and official resources
- Texas HHSC MEPD Handbook: Appendix XII, Nursing Facility and HCBS Waiver Information
- 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.