Medicaid Estate Recovery in Utah

What is recovered

Utah Code 26B-3-1013 recovers medical assistance correctly provided when the recipient was 55 or older.^{1, 2}

The assistance recovered can include long-term care, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug costs paid by Medicaid.³

What counts as the estate

Recovery is made from the recipient's estate and from any trust in which the recipient was the grantor and a beneficiary.^{1, 2}

Under Utah Code 26B-3-1013(5), a trust provision that denies recovery for Medicaid assistance is void at the time it is made.^{1, 2}

When recovery is deferred or barred

Utah Code 26B-3-1013(1)(b) bars 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.^{1, 2}

How the state files its claim

Under Utah Code 26B-3-1013, 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.^{1, 2}

Governing law: Utah Code 26B-3-1013 (Estate and trust recovery)

1. 1.Utah Code 26B-3-1013, Estate and trust recovery
2. 2.Utah Code 26B-3-1013, Estate and trust recovery (version effective May 7, 2025)
3. 3.Estate Recovery (Utah Office of Recovery Services)