Medicaid Estate Recovery in Texas: when someone dies
A 5-step process for Texas Health and Human Services Commission — Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) after a death in Texas.
OverviewWhen someone dies
Medicaid Recovery
Texas
hhs.texas.gov/regulations/legal-information/your-guide-medicaid-estate-recovery-program→Administering agency
Texas Health and Human Services Commission — Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP)
Phone800-641-9356
WebsiteVisit website →
Authority
1 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 373.103, 373.207, 373.209, 373.215
Verified Jul 2026
Steps to take
- Determine whether the deceased received covered Medicaid long-term care services at age 55 or older and first applied for them on or after March 1, 2005.
- Confirm whether the estate is removed from recovery — a surviving spouse, a child under 21, a blind or permanently and totally disabled child, an unmarried adult child who lived in the home full-time for at least a year before the death, an estate worth $10,000 or less, a Medicaid cost of $3,000 or less, or a property that costs more to sell than it is worth.
- Contact MERP through HHSC to confirm whether a claim applies and request the amount.
- Gather receipts for amounts that may be deducted, such as costs to maintain the home or to pay for care that kept the person at home longer.
- Submit Form 5006, Application for Hardship Waiver, with proof if recovery would cause an undue hardship for the heirs — within 60 days of the date of the MERP Notice of Intent to File a Claim.
Texas Health and Human Services Commission — Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP)
Phone: 800-641-9356
Visit the agency website →Frequently asked questions
Texas does not seek recovery when there is a surviving spouse, a surviving child under 21, a surviving child of any age who is blind or permanently and totally disabled, or an unmarried adult child who lived full-time in the recipient's home for at least one year before the death. Recovery is also not sought when the value of the estate is $10,000 or less, when the Medicaid cost is $3,000 or less, or when the property costs more to sell than it is worth.
Heirs submit Form 5006, Application for Hardship Waiver, with proof of the hardship, within 60 days of the date of the MERP Notice of Intent to File a Claim. The request is mailed to MERP, Hardship Waiver Request, P.O. Box 13247, Austin, TX 78711, and MERP decides within 40 days of receiving the form and all required supporting documents. MERP may waive its claim in whole or in part when recovery would cause an undue hardship for a legatee or heir. The state does not grant a waiver unless heirs request it.
The homestead is not automatically protected, but a hardship waiver can exempt it. The first $100,000 of the homestead's tax appraisal district value is exempt when one or more siblings or direct descendants inheriting it have gross family income below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Appraised value above $100,000 stays subject to recovery, and when only some heirs qualify, only their share is exempt. Recovery is also not sought at all when an unmarried adult child lived full-time in the home for at least one year before the death.
Sources
Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in Texas primary sources (4 pages reviewed). How we research.
Medicaid Recovery
Texas
hhs.texas.gov/regulations/legal-information/your-guide-medicaid-estate-recovery-program→Administering agency
Texas Health and Human Services Commission — Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP)
Phone800-641-9356
WebsiteVisit website →
Authority
1 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 373.103, 373.207, 373.209, 373.215
Verified Jul 2026