Medicaid Estate Recovery in Arkansas
Arkansas recovers Medicaid payments correctly made from August 13, 1993 onward for nursing facility, ICF/IID, and home and community-based waiver services. Recovery reaches recipients who were 55 or older, and recipients of any age who were permanently institutionalized. The DHS Third Party Liability Unit mails a Notice of Estate Recovery and files the claim with the probate clerk.
Administering agency
Arkansas Department of Human Services — Third Party Liability Unit, Decedents' Estates (Medicaid Estate Recovery)
Authority
Ark. Code Ann. 20-76-436; DHS Medical Services Policy Manual MS H-600 – H-730 (rev. 08/29/2022)
Medicaid Estate Recovery in Arkansas: key facts
- Recovery scope
- Medical payments correctly made from August 13, 1993 and later for care in a nursing facility, an ICF/IID, or a home and community-based waiver program.
- Who is subject
- Individuals 55 or older who received nursing facility, ICF/IID, or waiver services; and individuals of any age who were permanently institutionalized in a nursing facility or ICF/IID and had to pay all but a minimal amount of their income for care.
- Recovery postponed
- Not waived but postponed while there is a surviving spouse, a surviving minor child, or a child of any age who is blind or permanently and totally disabled — or while a caregiver son or daughter who lived in the home for the two years before the recipient entered care, or a sibling who lived in the home for the year before, still lives there.
- Never recovered
- Interests acquired through a properly executed and recorded beneficiary deed (Ark. Act 570 of 2021, once documentation is given to the entity seeking recovery); resources protected by a Qualified Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership Policy; and any recovery that is not cost effective.
- Hardship waiver
- The personal representative or distributee may apply within 30 days after receiving the DHS-20 Notice of Estate Recovery, by mailing a statement of the facts to the Third Party Liability Unit, Attention: Decedents' Estates, P.O. Box 1437, Slot S296, Little Rock, AR 72203-1437.
- Hardship factors
- The DCO Hardship Waiver Committee weighs whether the asset is a beneficiary's sole income-producing asset; whether a beneficiary would become eligible for public benefits without the estate proceeds; whether the inheritance would let a beneficiary leave public benefits; whether the asset is a home worth 50% or less of the county average home price at the date of death; and other compelling circumstances.
Governing law: Ark. Code Ann. 20-76-436; DHS Medical Services Policy Manual MS H-600 – H-730 (rev. 08/29/2022)
Frequently asked questions
No. Recovery applies to individuals 55 or older who received care in a nursing facility, an ICF/IID, or a home and community-based waiver program — and also to individuals of any age who were considered permanently institutionalized in a nursing facility or ICF/IID and had to pay all but a minimal amount of their income for care.
Recovery is postponed — not waived — while there is a surviving spouse, a surviving minor child, or a child of any age who is blind or permanently and totally disabled. It is also postponed while a caregiver son or daughter who lived in the home for the two years before the recipient entered care, or a sibling who lived in the home for the year before, still lives in the home. DHS may recover once those individuals die or move out.
Within 30 days of receiving the Notice of Estate Recovery (form DHS-20), the personal representative or distributee mails a statement of the facts establishing the hardship, with supporting tax returns or income statements, to the DHS Third Party Liability Unit, Decedents' Estates. The DCO Hardship Waiver Committee decides and sends its decision by certified mail; a denial can be appealed within 30 days.
No. Under Arkansas Act 570 of 2021, DHS does not recover from interests acquired through a beneficiary deed that was properly executed and recorded, once documentation is provided to the entity seeking recovery.
When someone dies
Steps after a death in Arkansas
5-step process for Arkansas Department of Human Services — Third Party Liability Unit, Decedents' Estates (Medicaid Estate Recovery).
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Sources
Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in Arkansas primary sources (4 pages reviewed). How we research.
Administering agency
Arkansas Department of Human Services — Third Party Liability Unit, Decedents' Estates (Medicaid Estate Recovery)
Authority
Ark. Code Ann. 20-76-436; DHS Medical Services Policy Manual MS H-600 – H-730 (rev. 08/29/2022)