Skip to main content
SimplyTrust
SimplyTrust
Create a TrustNewForms & ToolsFreeResourcesStates
LoginGet started
Company
AboutCareersContactFormsCreate a TrustNew
Privacy PolicyTerms of ServiceSecurityAI Access

© 2026 SimplyTrust Software Inc.

SimplyTrust Logo

Every family deserves a plan. We'll help.

Get startedApp StoreGoogle Play

Forms

  • Revocable Trust
  • Last Will
  • Pour-Over Will
  • Healthcare Proxy
  • Financial POA
  • Transfer on Death Deed

Tools

  • Trust vs Will
  • Probate Calculator
  • Who Inherits
  • Estate Settlement
  • Death Tax Calculator
  • Life Insurance

Learn

  • Revocable Living Trusts
  • Last Will and Testaments
  • Articles
  • State Guides
  • Estate Law
  • Life Events

Directories

  • Law Firms
  • Financial Assets
  • Digital Assets
  • Government Agencies

Company

  • About
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Create a Trust

SimplyTrust is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, legal counsel, or attorney review. Information on this platform is for general informational purposes only. Use of SimplyTrust does not create an attorney-client relationship. You are solely responsible for all documents you create. For advice tailored to your circumstances, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

© 2026 SimplyTrust Software Inc. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy·Terms of Service·Security··AI Access

All content, data, and calculations are proprietary. Automated scraping, systematic downloading, or data extraction is prohibited under our Terms of Service. Product visuals are simulated for illustrative purposes and may differ from actual experience. Logos provided by Logo.dev.

A will is a wish. A trust is a plan.

Create and manage your trust online.

How it works

No probate. No public record. No court.

Estate Ledger

Every decision signed, timestamped, and hashed

Pricing

Simple, transparent pricing

Download

Get the app on iOS and Android

Home→Agencies→Medicaid Estate Recovery→Iowa→When someone dies

Medicaid Estate Recovery in Iowa: when someone dies

A 5-step process for Iowa Health and Human Services — Estate Recovery Program after a death in Iowa.

OverviewWhen someone dies

Medicaid Recovery

Iowa

hhs.iowa.gov/medicaid/member-services/estate-recovery→

Administering agency

Iowa Health and Human Services — Estate Recovery Program

Phone888-513-5186
WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

Iowa Code 249A.53; Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-75.28

Verified May 2026

Steps to take

  1. Determine whether the deceased received Medicaid at age 55 or older, or as a long-term care facility resident who could not be expected to return home.
  2. Report the death to the Iowa HHS Estate Recovery Program; a facility administrator and the personal representative must report within ten days of death (Iowa Code 249A.53(2)(f)).
  3. Provide the requested information about the deceased's assets so the program can determine the amount of the claim.
  4. Address the recovery claim as a debt of the estate, classified with taxes having preference, before distributing assets to heirs.
  5. Apply for a hardship waiver within 30 days of the program's letter if recovery would deny the family food, clothing, shelter, or medical care and the household meets the income and resource limits.

Iowa Health and Human Services — Estate Recovery Program

Phone: 888-513-5186

Visit the agency website →

Frequently asked questions

Iowa waives recovery to the extent it would reduce what a surviving spouse, or a surviving child who was under 21, blind, or permanently and totally disabled at death, receives from the estate, and where recovery would work an undue hardship under federal criteria. The waived amount can become a debt due later from the spouse's or child's estate.

Iowa Code 249A.53(2)(c) defines the estate broadly to include real property, personal property, and any asset in which the recipient held legal title or interest at death — including jointly held property, retained life estates, and interests in trusts.

Medicaid Recovery

Iowa

hhs.iowa.gov/medicaid/member-services/estate-recovery→

Administering agency

Iowa Health and Human Services — Estate Recovery Program

Phone888-513-5186
WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

Iowa Code 249A.53; Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-75.28

Verified May 2026