Medicaid Estate Recovery in Alaska
Alaska recovers Medicaid costs from the estate of a recipient who was 55 or older when the assistance was received, but only for long-term care — services in a nursing facility or other medical institution and home- and community-based waiver services. Routine Medicaid medical costs are not recovered.
Administering agency
Alaska Department of Health — Division of Public Assistance
Authority
Alaska Stat. 47.07.055
Medicaid Estate Recovery in Alaska: key facts
- Recovery scope
- Limited to long-term care: services received as an inpatient in a nursing facility, intermediate care facility, or other medical institution, and home- and community-based waiver services. Not all Medicaid medical assistance.
- Who is subject
- The estate of a recipient who was age 55 or older when the long-term care services were received.
- Recovery deferred
- A claim may be made only after the death of the recipient's surviving spouse, if any, and only when there is no surviving child under age 21 and no surviving child who is blind or totally and permanently disabled.
- Hardship waiver
- Federal law requires every state, Alaska included, to have a procedure for waiving estate recovery where recovery would work an undue hardship. Alaska does not publish a standalone hardship form or criteria page — the request goes to the Division of Public Assistance (1-800-478-7778).
- Priority in probate
- A Medicaid recovery claim is a debt with preference under state law for purposes of the probate claim-payment order (AS 13.16.470).
Governing law: Alaska Stat. 47.07.055
Frequently asked questions
No. Alaska limits estate recovery to long-term care — services received in a nursing facility or other medical institution and home- and community-based waiver services — for recipients who were 55 or older when the services were received. Routine Medicaid medical costs are not recovered.
Federal law requires every state to have a procedure for waiving estate recovery where it would work an undue hardship (42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)(3)). Alaska publishes no standalone hardship form or criteria page, so the request is made to the Division of Public Assistance at 1-800-478-7778.
When someone dies
Steps after a death in Alaska
4-step process for Alaska Department of Health — Division of Public Assistance.
View details →
Sources
Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in Alaska primary sources (4 pages reviewed). How we research.
Administering agency
Alaska Department of Health — Division of Public Assistance
Authority
Alaska Stat. 47.07.055