Medicaid Estate Recovery in Massachusetts

Medicaid-Medicare IntegrationLong-Term Services and Supports

Oct 23

Aurrera Health worked with the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute to assess Massachusetts’ current Medicaid estate recovery policy and practices, how their policies compare to those of peer states, and how estate recovery affects marginalized communities. Aurrera Health reviewed literature and interviewed MassHealth officials, Massachusetts-based member advocates, and Medicaid officials from peer states who recently reduced the scope of their estate recovery program. Through this work, Aurrera Health identified policy options to reduce the MassHealth estate recovery program’s negative effects on members and families. The results of this work were published in the issue brief Holding on to Home: A Primer on MassHealth Estate Recovery and Options for Reducing Its Impact on Members and Families. Within a year of publication, the state passed a new law that reduced the scope of their estate recovery program, a positive step towards improving financial wellbeing of marginalized communities.