What is the Medicaid Estate Recovery Time Limit in New York City?

The Medicaid Estate Recovery Time Limit in New York refers to the statute of limitations, the period in which the state Medicaid agency has the right to file an action, to recover the costs of Medicaid disbursed to a Medicaid recipient.

Medicaid Estate Recovery

Medicaid estate recovery is the right of the state to recover costs disbursed for the long-term care, home-based and community-based care of the Medicaid recipient.

Generally, in order to be eligible for Medicaid, a Medicaid recipient must own very few assets. Usually, a Medicaid recipient then will only have one remaining valuable asset at the time of death: his house. The house remains as the Medicaid recipient’s only asset because it is an exempt asset for purposes of determining Medicaid eligibility.

For this reason, Medicaid estate recovery usually refers to recovery on costs from the house of the Medicaid recipient upon the Medicaid recipient’s death.

Limitations on Estate Recovery

In New York, Medicaid cannot place on a lien on a Medicaid recipient’s house if the following continue to live in the house:

• the spouse of the individual;
• a child of the individual who is under twenty-one years of age or who is blind or permanently and totally disabled;  or
• a sibling of the individual who has an equity interest in the home and who was residing in the home for a period of at least one year immediately before the date of the individual’s admission to the medical institution.

Above are defenses one can raise when Medicaid seeks to impose a lien on the Medicaid recipient/decedent’s house.

Time Limit on Medicaid Estate Recovery

The time limit or statute of limitations for Medicaid to recover costs from the estate of the Medicaid recipient is generally seven months from the time the executor or administrator is appointed by the court.

This seven-month period is a period for which creditors of the decedent’s estate must file their claims with the executor or administrator. Beyond this seven-month period, the executor or administrator may not be held liable for any distribution made to the beneficiaries in good faith.

Defending the decedent’s house from Medicaid estate recovery may need the expertise of a Medicaid lawyer. In the alternative, in case you are planning your estate, the advice of a Medicaid estate planning lawyer is important to ensure you protect your assets and build wealth for the future generation.

Should you need assistance in Medicaid-related matter, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here for you. We have offices in New York City, Brooklyn, NY and Queens, NY. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].