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Home→Agencies→Medicaid Estate Recovery→California

Medicaid Estate Recovery in California

California recovers Medi-Cal costs from the estates of beneficiaries who received benefits at age 55 or older. For deaths on or after January 1, 2017, recovery is limited to assets that pass through probate and to nursing facility, home and community-based, and related services.

OverviewWhen someone dies

Medicaid Recovery

California

dhcs.ca.gov/services/estate-recovery-program→

Administering agency

California Department of Health Care Services — Estate Recovery Program

Phone916-650-0590
WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code 14009.5

Verified Jul 2026

Medicaid Estate Recovery in California: key facts

Recovery scope (deaths on or after Jan. 1, 2017)
Limited to assets in the probate estate, and limited to payments for nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.
Who is subject
Beneficiaries who received Medi-Cal at age 55 or older, and individuals who were permanently institutionalized.
No recovery while protected survivors exist
The department does not claim when there is a surviving spouse or surviving registered domestic partner, a surviving child under 21, or a surviving child who is blind or disabled.
Hardship waiver
DHCS waives its claim where enforcement would cause substantial hardship, and waives it when the estate is a homestead of modest value (a home worth 50 percent or less of the average home price in its county). A waiver request is submitted within 60 days of the date on the DHCS estate recovery claim letter.

Governing law: Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code 14009.5

When someone dies

Steps after a death in California

4-step process for California Department of Health Care Services — Estate Recovery Program.

View details →
SimplyTrustSimplyTrust Editorial·Updated July 14, 2026

Sources

  • dhcs.ca.gov
  • leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in California primary sources (2 pages reviewed). How we research.

Medicaid Recovery

California

dhcs.ca.gov/services/estate-recovery-program→

Administering agency

California Department of Health Care Services — Estate Recovery Program

Phone916-650-0590
WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code 14009.5

Verified Jul 2026
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