Medicaid Estate Recovery in Kentucky
Kentucky recovers Medicaid payments for a period of institutionalization — nursing facility, ICF-IID, and home- and community-based waiver services, plus related hospital, physician, and prescription costs — from the estate of a deceased recipient who was 55 or older or permanently institutionalized. The amount recovered cannot exceed what Medicaid paid on the recipient's behalf.
OverviewWhen someone dies
Administering agency
Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Department for Medicaid Services (Estate Recovery)
Phone502-564-4958
WebsiteVisit website →
Authority
907 KAR 1:585
Verified Jul 2026
Medicaid Estate Recovery in Kentucky: key facts
- Recovery scope
- Payments for a period of institutionalization: nursing facility, ICF-IID, and home- and community-based waiver services, plus related prescription drugs, hospital, and physician services. Recovery cannot exceed what Medicaid paid.
- Who is subject
- A recipient age 55 or older who received covered services, or a recipient permanently institutionalized (in a nursing facility or ICF-IID for six months or more) at any age.
- Exemptions
- No recovery while there is a surviving spouse, or a surviving child who is under 21 or who is blind or disabled (as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1382c).
- Undue hardship / cost
- Recovery is waived where it would work an undue hardship — for example a sole income-producing family farm or business conveyed to the surviving recipient family member. Residential real property that produces income through a lease or rental does not count as a sole income-producing asset. The Department may also waive recovery as not cost effective, and it does not treat recovery as cost effective when the estate's date-of-death value subject to recovery is $10,000 or less or is less than the administrative cost of recovering.
Governing law: 907 KAR 1:585
Frequently asked questions
Kentucky recovers payments for a period of institutionalization, which covers nursing facility, ICF-IID, and home- and community-based waiver services, along with related prescription drug, hospital, and physician costs. Recovery cannot exceed the amount Medicaid paid on the recipient's behalf.
The estate representative makes a written request to the Department for Medicaid Services within thirty days of receiving the notice of intent to recover, showing the asset is a sole income-producing family farm or business conveyed to the surviving recipient family member. The Department decides within thirty days of receiving the request and supporting documentation, and a denial can be appealed through an administrative hearing under KRS Chapter 13B.
When someone dies
Steps after a death in Kentucky
4-step process for Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Department for Medicaid Services (Estate Recovery).
View details →
Sources
Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in Kentucky primary sources (2 pages reviewed). How we research.
Administering agency
Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Department for Medicaid Services (Estate Recovery)
Phone502-564-4958
WebsiteVisit website →
Authority
907 KAR 1:585
Verified Jul 2026