Medicaid Estate Recovery in Utah
Utah recovers correctly paid Medicaid medical assistance from the estate of a recipient who was 55 or older when the assistance was provided. The Office of Recovery Services (ORS), within the Department of Health and Human Services, files the recovery claim against the estate or against any trust in which the recipient was both grantor and beneficiary.
Administering agency
Utah Department of Health and Human Services — Office of Recovery Services
Authority
Utah Code 26B-3-1013 (Estate and trust recovery)
Medicaid Estate Recovery in Utah: key facts
- Recovery scope
- Medical assistance correctly provided when the recipient was 55 or older, recovered from the recipient's estate and from any trust in which the recipient was the grantor and a beneficiary (Utah Code 26B-3-1013(1)(a)).
- Recovery deferred
- No recovery while the surviving spouse is living, or while there is a surviving child who is under 21 or who is blind or disabled as defined in the state plan (Utah Code 26B-3-1013(1)(b)).
- Claim priority
- The recovery amount is a lien against the estate or trust, with the same priority as the reasonable and necessary medical expenses of the last illness under Utah Code 75-3-805.
- Anti-avoidance
- A trust provision that denies recovery for Medicaid assistance is void at the time it is made (Utah Code 26B-3-1013(5)).
Governing law: Utah Code 26B-3-1013 (Estate and trust recovery)
Steps to take when someone dies
- Determine whether the deceased received Medicaid medical assistance at age 55 or older.
- Contact the Office of Recovery Services to confirm whether a recovery claim applies and request the lien amount.
- Address the lien before final distribution:
- For an estate, ORS presents the lien to the personal representative under Utah Code 75-3-804
- For a trust, ORS presents the lien to the trustee under Utah Code 75B-2-510
- Confirm whether any deferral applies — a living surviving spouse, or a surviving child who is under 21, blind, or disabled — before paying the claim.
Utah Department of Health and Human Services — Office of Recovery Services
Phone: 801-536-8798
Visit the agency website →Frequently asked questions
Utah Code 26B-3-1013(1)(b) bars recovery while the deceased recipient's spouse is still living, and while the recipient has a surviving child who is under 21 or who is blind or disabled as defined in the state plan.
No. Under Utah Code 26B-3-1013, Utah recovers Medicaid medical assistance correctly provided when the recipient was 55 or older. That can include long-term care, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug costs paid by Medicaid.
No. Utah Code 26B-3-1013 reaches any trust in which the recipient was the grantor and a beneficiary, and any trust provision that denies recovery for Medicaid assistance is void at the time it is made.
Sources
Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in Utah primary sources (4 pages reviewed). How we research.
Administering agency
Utah Department of Health and Human Services — Office of Recovery Services
Authority
Utah Code 26B-3-1013 (Estate and trust recovery)