Obamacare requires everyone to have
health insurance. In more than half of the states in the country, that
comes through an expansion of Medicaid, the joint federal-state program
for the poor. Under a 1993 federal law, states can recoup the costs of
Medicaid by seizing the property of deceased Medicaid recipients.
Protesters
for the Expansion of Medicaid stand in front of the State House as the
first day of the Alabama Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, in
Montgomery, Ala. (AP/Butch Dill)
With the vast expansion of who can enroll in Medicaid under Obamacare, that could mean significantly more property. Though The Washington Post called it “scary but improbable,”
the newspaper reported there are people who are concerned about it and
that the federal government has not rejected it out of hand.
Before the expansion, it was an option
rarely used, so there’s little national data. But in Oregon, from July
2011 to June 2013, the state snatched $41 million in assets from about
8,900 people, the Post reported.
“If you’re receiving a public benefit
and the state is trying to support you, you should give back if you are
able,” Judy Mohr Peterson, Oregon’s Medicaid director, told the Post in
explaining the reasoning.
But Oregon’s Medicaid office opted to change its approach so people would not be afraid to sign up for expanded Medicaid.
“We needed to take another look at
heath insurance coverage from the point of view of it not being a public
benefit that’s voluntary,” Mohr Peterson said.
Aaron Albright, a spokesman for the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said they “recognize [the]
importance of this issue and will provide states with additional
guidance in this area soon.”
The Post found two people who were eligible for the expanded Medicaid but were afraid to do so.
“I was leaning toward not getting
Medicaid, because there is somewhat of a stigma,” said Steve Olin, 60, a
former copy editor from Eureka, Ill. “Then, when I heard about the
estate recovery, I was really sure.”
A 54-year-old former lawyer from New
York City, who requested anonymity, owns an $850,000 apartment in the
city that she hopes to leave to a family member.
“I don’t want my assets to be raided
after my death,” she said. “The idea that someone can come after my
house after I die — I just can’t do it.”
The Medicaid expansion under Obamacare
is for people earning 138 percent of the poverty level, or $15,900 for
an individual with no dependents.
Out of a concern over exploding
Medicaid costs, Congress passed a law in 1993 that states must try to
recover money from the estate of people who used Medicaid for long-term
care. It further gave states the option to target the estate of all
Medicaid recipients for any benefits they received after routine care.
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