http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2022469957_medicaidrecoveryxml.htmlOriginally published December 15, 2013 at 7:18 PM | Page modified December 15, 2013 at 9:22 PM
Expanded Medicaid’s fine print holds surprise: ‘payback’ from estate after death
As thousands of state residents enroll in Washington’s expanded Medicaid program, many will be surprised at fine print: After you’re dead, your estate can be billed for ordinary health-care expenses. State officials are scrambling to change the rule.
By Carol M. Ostrom
Seattle Times health reporter
It wasn’t the moonlight, holiday-season euphoria or family pressure that made Sofia Prins and Gary Balhorn, both 62, suddenly decide to get married.
It was the fine print.
As fine print is wont to do, it had buried itself in a long form — Balhorn’s application for free health insurance through the expanded state Medicaid program. As the paperwork lay on the dining-room table in Port Townsend, Prins began reading.
She was shocked: If you’re 55 or over, Medicaid can come back after you’re dead and bill your estate for ordinary health-care expenses.
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