February 2022 KY State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program E-Newsletter

Advocacy Update!

New Bill Would End Federal Requirement that State Medicaid Programs Recoup Costs from Families

In February U.S. House Representative Jan Schakowsky introduced the Stop Unfair Medicaid Recoveries Act, which would repeal a federal law which requires state Medicaid programs to recover long-term care costs from estates of deceased recipients.  The law often forces family members of the deceased to sell a family home in order to repay the Medicaid costs.  Because home ownership is one of the few ways to build generational wealth for lower-income families, the burdens of estate recovery fall disproportionately on economically oppressed families and communities of color.

Read the entire e-newsletter here.