The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) will recommend to Congress in its upcoming March report that:
- Estate recovery be made optional for states;
- Recovery on capitated payments be limited to services received with the capitated payment as the maximum collectable amount; and
- Mandating new minimum hardship exemptions.
NAELA, working with Justice in Aging, the National Health Law Program (NHeLP), the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), and the Western Center on Law and Poverty organized a letter signed by 31 organizations to MACPAC on the harms caused by estate recovery. MACPAC’s vote last week was not without controversy with several members of MACPAC making references to elder law attorneys as individuals that “manipulate” the rules and as “profiteers.” Due to these concerns, MACPAC has agreed to examine the issue of Medicaid eligibility for long-term services and supports at a later date.