What You Should Know About Medical LiensA Medical lien is a claim placed against a person's property to ensure that he or she pays a debt. The Department of Social Services may impose a lien on the property of a Medicaid recipient if he or she retains a home and resides in a nursing home, or other medical institutions with the intent to return to the home and is unable to do so. The department will notify a recipient if it intends to impose a lien. The amount claimed as a lien will be equal to the amount of assistance that the Department of Social Services provides to a Medicaid recipient while residing in the institution. The lien will dissolve when the recipient is medically released from the nursing facility or institution and returns to his or her home. The Department of Social Services will not impose a lien on the home of a Medicaid recipient if: * The recipient has a spouse lawfully residing in the home. * The recipient has a child under 21. * The recipient has a child that is blind, disables as determined by Supplemental Security Income. * The recipient's sibling has co-ownership in the home property and has lawfully resided there continuously for at least on year immediately before the recipient was admitted to the nursing facility or institution. Why does the state impose liens on home property? The 1994 State Legislature authorized the Department of Social Services to impose liens on real property to allow the state to recover the costs of Medicaid benefits paid to recipients while in a nursing facility or institution. |