• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Medicaid repayment

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

eg6_kaydoo

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin

My father passed away in a car accident and now I'm being charged with a $28000 bill.
The bill says my father received medicaid benefits and now i'm liable for repayment.

Why do I have to pay back medicaid for my deceased father?
 


tranquility

Senior Member
It depends.

You don't owe if they're making the claim simply because you're a relative. However, if you got something of value from father or his estate (Or, you were the executor of the estate.) maybe.

What happened and why do they think you owe the state money?
 

eg6_kaydoo

Junior Member
Thank you for your reply. I greatly appreciate it.

They said we owe the state money because he was receiving medicaid benefits.

What happened is that my father had a car accident and past away. We talked with a lawyer to investigate the crash. About one month later, the lawyer then sends me an email saying our family owes the state $28,000 for medicaid benefits my father received. It also says this is because we are the estates of decedents.
There isn't much more details except for a bunch of statues.

My father was on medicaid but is medicaid something your family has to pay back after their death?
 

anteater

Senior Member
It sounds like the attorney was doing more than just investigating a vehicle accident.

It also says this is because we are the estates of decedents.
This is not very clear.

If your father was receiving Medicaid assistance, then the state can make a claim for reimbursement against your father's estate.

What you have not mentioned is what assets he owned. And the use of "we" and "our family" is not very explanatory.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
If YOUR attorney says you owe, my guess he isn't going to make a mistake on something like this. The state can take the value of all dad had. I suspect the OP and the family took some of what dad had and owe the money.
 

commentator

Senior Member
In order to put your father on Medicaid, from which I assume he was in a skilled nursing facility of some type which took and his monthly social security payments and used Medicaid to pay for his care, the system took a lien on his property, such as a house he owned. They don't require that you sell all your assets before you get medicaid, because of course many things like houses don't sell on demand, and there may be others, like a spouse or family member living in the house. But when the person dies, there is that lien, there is that requirement that yes, he did receive Medicaid and yes, he did or his representative did to receive this medicaid, agree to use any assets in his estate to pay it.

The term they use is "pauperize himself." That's what he or his representative had to do to get medicaid. That means someone else has the right to any property or assets he dies in posession of.

In our state, you cannot settle an estate without a document from the state's medicaid program saying that no money is owed to them.

I think you are misunderstanding when they say you owe it. Who owes it is your father's estate.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top