Medicaid Estate Recovery in South Carolina: when someone dies
A 5-step process for South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services — Medicaid Estate Recovery after a death in South Carolina.
OverviewWhen someone dies
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
Steps to take
- Determine whether the deceased received Medicaid long-term care at age 55 or older, or was a patient in a nursing facility or other medical institution at death.
- Confirm whether estate recovery applies — SCDHHS may be legally required to file a claim where the estate has assets of more than $25,000.
- Contact SCDHHS Medicaid Estate Recovery at (803) 898-2932 to confirm whether a claim applies and to request the amount.
- Address the claim as a debt of the estate, paid after higher-priority claims such as funeral expenses, taxes, and attorney fees.
- Submit an undue-hardship waiver request to SCDHHS after the recipient's death if the family's circumstances meet the conditions in the law.
South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services — Medicaid Estate Recovery
Phone: (803) 898-2932
Visit the agency website →Frequently asked questions
SCDHHS recovers the cost of long-term care — nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and the hospital and prescription drug services provided to people in those settings — from the estate of a recipient who was 55 or older when the care was provided, or who was in a nursing facility or other medical institution at death.
Recovery must be deferred while the recipient is survived by a spouse, a child under age 21, or a child who is blind or permanently disabled — a claim may be made only after the surviving spouse has died and no such child survives, so those survivors postpone the claim rather than cancel it. SCDHHS must waive recovery upon proof of undue hardship, and may exempt assets covered by a qualified long-term care partnership policy.
No. Only the assets of the deceased recipient's estate are considered. A Medicaid estate recovery claim is paid from the estate after higher-priority claims, and is never collected from surviving family members personally.
Sources
Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in South Carolina primary sources (4 pages reviewed). How we research.
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