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California’s Medi-Cal estate recovery program has received renewed attention from policymakers because of reports that some individuals newly eligible for Medi-Cal as expanded under the Affordable Care Act may not enroll for fear that their house and assets could later be seized. The purpose of this issue brief is to describe Medi-Cal estate recovery and to clarify who could be subject to it and under what circumstances.

Different estate recovery rules apply for those in the new Medi-Cal “expansion” population and those in one of the traditional Medi-Cal eligibility categories such as seniors and persons with disabilities.

The existing rules include limitations on estate recovery and protections for people in certain situations. State lawmakers may act to further restrict recoveries by limiting the costs that could be subject to the rules. California Senate Bill 1124, vetoed by the governor in September 2014, would have limited estate recovery for both expansion Medi-Cal and traditional Medi-Cal to Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) costs; it also would have prohibited any recovery from the estate of a surviving spouse, even after the surviving spouse’s death.

The complete issue brief is available under Document Downloads.