Medicaid Estate Recovery Scope by US State, 2026

Whether each US state's Medicaid estate recovery programme reaches only the probate estate or uses the broader optional definition that also reaches non-probate transfers such as joint tenancy, life estates, living trusts, and payable- or transfer-on-death assets, with the statutory or regulatory citation for each classification. Coverage: 51 jurisdictions (22 use an expanded estate definition, 29 recover from the probate estate only). Methodology. Every row was verified at statute or regulation level; the citation is carried in the `evidence` column. `recovery_scope` is `probate_only` where recovery is limited to the probate estate, `expanded` where the state has adopted the optional broader estate definition permitted by 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)(4)(B). `confidence` is HIGH where the statute is explicit, MEDIUM where classification rests on regulation or agency practice rather than clear statutory text, LOW where sources conflict (Connecticut). `note` records the state-specific carve-outs that decide real cases, and is the reason this dataset exists in this shape rather than as a bare two-value column. How to read this responsibly. Estate recovery scope is NOT the same as the transfer look-back period, and the two are routinely conflated. This dataset is about what the state can recover from after death, not about penalties for transfers made during life. Seven rows are not HIGH confidence: VA, WV, MS, AR, CO, DE (MEDIUM) and CT (LOW). State practice can diverge from statutory authority. A state with expanded authority does not necessarily pursue every category of asset it could reach. This is a compilation of law as of July 2026, not legal advice. Federal minimums and the mandatory hardship-waiver process are out of scope. Read alongside the transfer-on-death deed dataset: several expanded-recovery states (for example Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Utah) expressly reach TOD deeds, which makes the two datasets only meaningful together. Cite as: Clear Money Guide, "Medicaid Estate Recovery Scope by State, 2026," https://clearmoneyguide.com/can-medicaid-take-your-house/ Canonical page: https://clearmoneyguide.com/can-medicaid-take-your-house/