Usually, the only time that “they” may “take” someone’s money is after a Medicaid patient has died. Under a program called “Estate Recovery,” Medicaid has a claim to be reimbursed the amount of benefits paid during the patient’s lifetime, but only from the patient’s “probate estate” assets. Non-probate assets that pass by joint ownership with right of survivorship, or to a pay-on-death beneficiary, outside of probate, are not subject to the claim (see our Estate Administration brochure for definitions and details of this.)

A distinct current trend is for government to increase funding for home and community-based services in order to provide skilled nursing and other care for patients in their own homes. This is a “win-win” situation – the patient gets to stay at home, where almost everyone prefers to be, and the care costs less than residential care in a nursing home, both for the patient and for the benefits or care provider..