Medicaid Estate Recovery in Louisiana: when someone dies

A 4-step process for Louisiana Department of Health — Recovery and Premium Assistance Unit after a death in Louisiana.

OverviewWhen someone dies

Medicaid Recovery

Louisiana

ldh.la.gov/medicaid/long-term-care

Administering agency

Louisiana Department of Health — Recovery and Premium Assistance Unit

Authority

La. R.S. 46:153.4; La. Admin. Code Title 50, Part I, Subpart 9 (Recovery)

Verified Jul 2026

Steps to take

  1. Determine whether the deceased received Medicaid long-term care, home and community-based, or related services at age 55 or older.
  2. Request the Department of Health's estate recovery claim amount through its TPL Recovery Portal or its Recovery and Premium Assistance Unit before distributing succession assets.
  3. Address the claim as a privilege on the succession; heirs who receive assets without resolving the claim may become personally liable up to the value received.
  4. Apply for an exemption, deferral, or hardship waiver if a surviving spouse, a child under 21, a blind or disabled child, or a qualifying first-degree heir applies.

Louisiana Department of Health — Recovery and Premium Assistance Unit

Visit the agency website →

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Recovery is waived for a first-degree heir — a child of the decedent — whose family income was 300 percent or less of the Federal Poverty Income Level the year preceding the decedent's death, and may be waived where a child of the decedent uses the homestead as a means of livelihood or where recovery would make a child eligible for public assistance. The Department of Health verifies and approves waiver requests.

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Sources

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