The Medicaid Trap: Why Congress Won't Save Your Parents' House

Bipartisan bills promise to end the federal practice of seizing homes to claw back care costs, but the state-level reality says otherwise.

The letter arrives about ninety days after the funeral, printed on cheap state-agency letterhead. It looks like junk mail until you notice the dollar amount: $184,302.11. The state of Ohio, or Texas, or Massachusetts is politely asking for its money back, and they are prepared to take your late mother's three-bedroom ranch to get it. This is Medicaid estate recovery, a federally mandated debt-collection program that claws back the cost of nursing home stays from the estates of dead citizens.

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