Medicaid Estate Recovery in South Carolina

SCDHHS recovers Healthy Connections Medicaid costs for long-term care — nursing facility, home and community-based, and related hospital and prescription services — from the estates of recipients who were 55 or older when they received that care, and from recipients of any age who were institutionalized at death. Medicaid may be legally required to file a claim when the estate has assets of more than $25,000.

OverviewWhen someone dies

Medicaid Recovery

South Carolina

scdhhs.gov/estate-recovery→

Administering agency

South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services — Medicaid Estate Recovery

Phone(803) 898-2932

WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

S.C. Code 43-7-460 (and 43-7-410 et seq.); 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)

Verified Jul 2026

Medicaid Estate Recovery in South Carolina: key facts

Recovery scope: Nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and the hospital and prescription drug services provided to people in those settings.
Who is subject: Recipients age 55 or older when they received the care, and recipients of any age who were patients in a nursing facility or other medical institution at death.
Estate threshold: Where the estate has assets of more than $25,000, Medicaid may be legally required to file a claim against it. The Medicaid claim ranks below higher-priority claims such as funeral expenses, taxes, and attorney fees.
Recovery is deferred: SCDHHS states that estate recovery "must be deferred if the beneficiary is survived by a spouse or a child under the age of 21 blind or permanently disabled." Recovery may be made only after the surviving spouse has died and at a time when there is no surviving child under 21 and no blind or permanently and totally disabled child — so a surviving spouse or qualifying child postpones the claim rather than extinguishing it.
Undue-hardship waiver: SCDHHS publishes hardship criteria covering the home: a surviving sibling with an equity interest who lived there at least one year before institutionalization; a caregiver child who lived there at least two years before institutionalization; an immediate family member who has lived in the home at least two years, still lives there, owns no other real property, and has family income at or below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines; and a sole income-producing asset. Home-property hardship protects only a homestead of modest value — 50% or less of the average home price in the county as of the date of death.

Governing law: S.C. Code 43-7-460 (and 43-7-410 et seq.); 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)

When someone dies

Steps after a death in South Carolina

5-step process for South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services — Medicaid Estate Recovery.

View details →

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated July 14, 2026

Sources

Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in South Carolina primary sources (4 pages reviewed). How we research.

Medicaid Recovery

South Carolina

scdhhs.gov/estate-recovery→

Administering agency

South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services — Medicaid Estate Recovery

Phone(803) 898-2932

WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

S.C. Code 43-7-460 (and 43-7-410 et seq.); 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)

Verified Jul 2026

Medicaid Estate Recovery in South Carolina: key facts

Recovery scope

Nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and the hospital and prescription drug services provided to people in those settings.

Who is subject

Recipients age 55 or older when they received the care, and recipients of any age who were patients in a nursing facility or other medical institution at death.

Estate threshold

Where the estate has assets of more than $25,000, Medicaid may be legally required to file a claim against it. The Medicaid claim ranks below higher-priority claims such as funeral expenses, taxes, and attorney fees.

Recovery is deferred

SCDHHS states that estate recovery "must be deferred if the beneficiary is survived by a spouse or a child under the age of 21 blind or permanently disabled." Recovery may be made only after the surviving spouse has died and at a time when there is no surviving child under 21 and no blind or permanently and totally disabled child — so a surviving spouse or qualifying child postpones the claim rather than extinguishing it.

Undue-hardship waiver

SCDHHS publishes hardship criteria covering the home: a surviving sibling with an equity interest who lived there at least one year before institutionalization; a caregiver child who lived there at least two years before institutionalization; an immediate family member who has lived in the home at least two years, still lives there, owns no other real property, and has family income at or below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines; and a sole income-producing asset. Home-property hardship protects only a homestead of modest value — 50% or less of the average home price in the county as of the date of death.

Governing law: S.C. Code 43-7-460 (and 43-7-410 et seq.); 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)