Personal Finance & Estate › Medicare, Medi-Cal & long-term care › Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid)
Medi-Cal estate recovery
Probate estates only since 2017· Government program
Watch outA common mistake, trap or scam.
California's claim, after a Medi-Cal member dies, to recoup long-term care costs from whatever passes through probate.
See it on the Personal Finance & Estate map →How it works
It applies to members who were 55 or older, or in a nursing home at any age. Since 2017 the state recovers only for nursing-home, home- and community-based care and related hospital and drug costs, and only from the probate estate. There is no claim if a spouse survives (or later against that spouse's estate), or if there is a child under 21 or a blind or disabled child; hardship waivers exist. Assets passing by living trust, joint tenancy or transfer-on-death deed fall outside it.
Why it matters for you
Watch out: a parent's house left to pass through probate can be claimed after death. A funded living trust usually avoids this; have an elder-law attorney check how everything is titled.
Red flags and protection
Federal law (OBRA 1993) requires states to recover long-term care costs; California narrowed its program by SB 833 in 2016 (Welfare and Institutions Code Sec. 14009.5). DHCS runs it.
Watch out for
Federal law lets states reach non-probate assets too; whether budget pressure ever pushes California back to broader recovery is unknown.
Connections (3)
▸Medi-Cal estate recovery recoups long-term care costs paid by Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid)Watch out
How they connect
Medi-Cal pays for care while a member is alive; after death, the Department of Health Care Services can bill the estate for long-term care costs paid from age 55 or in a nursing home. The claim is capped at what Medi-Cal paid and at the probate estate's value. The probate representative must notify DHCS within 90 days of appointment.
When it applies
Federal law has required estate recovery since 1993; California narrowed its program on January 1, 2017, to probate estates and long-term care costs.
How sure?
Welfare and Institutions Code Sec. 14009.5; Probate Code Sec. 9202 requires notice to DHCS; DHCS publishes its Estate Recovery rules and forms.
Watch out for
How aggressively DHCS pursues small estates, and how often hardship waivers are granted, is not well documented publicly.
▸Medi-Cal estate recovery collects only from Probate in California (court process & statutory fees)Law or rule (2026)
How they connect
Since 2017, DHCS can claim only assets that go through probate: property titled solely in the decedent's name with no beneficiary, co-owner or trust. That ties Medi-Cal recovery to how a parent holds title. Probate also brings statutory fees and court delays, so avoiding it does double duty.
When it applies
Set by SB 833 for deaths on or after January 1, 2017; before then California could also reach joint tenancy, trust and other non-probate assets.
The rule
Welfare and Institutions Code Sec. 14009.5 limits 'estate' to property subject to probate; Probate Code Sec. 9202 requires notice to DHCS.
Watch out for
Exactly how small-estate shortcuts, like affidavits or simplified home transfers, interact with DHCS claims is a technical area for probate attorneys.
▸Medi-Cal estate recovery cannot reach assets in Revocable living trustLaw or rule (2026)
How they connect
A funded revocable trust passes assets at death without probate, so since 2017 DHCS can't reach them. That makes a properly funded trust holding a parent's home and accounts the usual protection. Limits: trust assets still count for Medi-Cal eligibility while the parent is alive, and anything left outside the trust may go through probate.
When it applies
Took effect for deaths on or after January 1, 2017, when California limited recovery to probate estates.
The rule
Welfare and Institutions Code Sec. 14009.5 as amended in 2016; DHCS estate recovery guidance and elder-law practice confirm trust assets are excluded.
Watch out for
Federal law allows broader recovery; if a future California budget restored it, this protection would shrink. No such change has been enacted.