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

Medicaid Estate Recovery in Massachusetts: when someone dies

A 5-step process for MassHealth — Estate Recovery Unit (Executive Office of Health and Human Services) after a death in Massachusetts.

OverviewWhen someone dies

Medicaid Recovery

Massachusetts

mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-medicaid-estate-recovery→

Administering agency

MassHealth — Estate Recovery Unit (Executive Office of Health and Human Services)

WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

M.G.L. c. 118E, s. 31 (as amended by St. 2024, c. 197)

Verified Jul 2026

Steps to take

  1. Determine whether the deceased received MassHealth at age 55 or older, or as a resident of a nursing facility or other medical institution.
  2. Notify the MassHealth Estate Recovery Unit and request the recovery claim amount for the probate estate.
  3. Send MassHealth a copy of the probate petition and death certificate; if the probate estate is $25,000 or less, recovery is waived.
  4. Address any valid claim as a debt of the estate before distributing assets to heirs.
  5. Request an undue-hardship waiver through MassHealth if recovery would work an undue hardship as defined in its regulations.

MassHealth — Estate Recovery Unit (Executive Office of Health and Human Services)

Visit the agency website →

Frequently asked questions

MassHealth waives estate recovery for probate estates valued at $25,000 or less. The personal representative still sends MassHealth a copy of the probate petition and the death certificate so the waiver can be applied.

Recovery may be made only after the death of a surviving spouse, and only when there is no surviving child who is under 21 or who is blind or has a disability. MassHealth also waives recovery where it would work an undue hardship under its regulations.

SimplyTrustSimplyTrust Editorial·Updated July 14, 2026

Sources

  • mass.gov
  • malegislature.gov

Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in Massachusetts primary sources (3 pages reviewed). How we research.

Medicaid Recovery

Massachusetts

mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-medicaid-estate-recovery→

Administering agency

MassHealth — Estate Recovery Unit (Executive Office of Health and Human Services)

WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

M.G.L. c. 118E, s. 31 (as amended by St. 2024, c. 197)

Verified Jul 2026
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