Connecticut Medicaid Estate Recovery 2026: Your House & Rights

Connecticut Medicaid estate recovery applies to a narrower group than most families fear: recipients who were 55 or older and received long-term care services. Medicaid estate recovery in Connecticut is administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services under the federally mandated OBRA-93 framework. Mandatory protections exist for surviving spouses, minor children, and blind or disabled children, and an undue-hardship waiver is available. This guide explains how Connecticut Medicaid estate recovery works in 2026.

Who Is Subject to Connecticut Medicaid Estate Recovery

Federal law under 42 USC § 1396p(b), enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA-93), requires Connecticut and every other state Medicaid program to operate an estate recovery program.1 The implementing regulation is 42 CFR 433.36, with operational guidance at the CMS State Medicaid Manual § 3810.

The federal mandatory floor defines who is subject to recovery: individuals who were 55 years of age or older at the time they received Medicaid-funded nursing facility services, home and community-based services (HCBS), and related hospital and prescription drug services.1 Additionally, permanently institutionalized individuals of any age who received Medicaid-funded long-term services and supports (LTSS) may be subject to recovery after a Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) lien is satisfied.

Connecticut DSS administers the estate recovery program for the HUSKY Health program (Connecticut's Medicaid program). Recovery is sought after the death of a qualifying recipient from assets that pass through the probate estate.

What Connecticut DSS Can Recover

Connecticut DSS can seek reimbursement for the cost of Medicaid-funded long-term care services it paid on behalf of the deceased recipient.1 This includes nursing facility costs, HCBS waiver services, and related hospital and prescription drug services that were paid in connection with LTC care.

One important carve-out: federal law at 42 USC § 1396p(b)(1)(B)(ii) excludes Medicaid payments made for Medicare cost-sharing (premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments) on behalf of Medicare Savings Program (MSP) enrollees, including Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMB) and related groups.2 Those amounts are off the table and cannot be recovered from the estate.

The probate estate. Connecticut pursues recovery from the probate estate, meaning assets that pass through the probate process after death. Assets that transfer outside probate, such as accounts with named payable-on-death beneficiaries, jointly held property that passes by right of survivorship, life insurance with a named beneficiary, and retirement accounts with a named beneficiary, generally are not part of the recoverable estate.

Whether Connecticut uses an expanded estate definition (reaching non-probate assets under 42 USC § 1396p(b)(4)(B)) should be confirmed with an elder-law attorney or directly with DSS, as state classifications on this point can shift. Families with significant non-probate assets should not assume they are automatically shielded without verification.

Who Is Protected

Five categorical protections under 42 USC § 1396p(b)(2) absolutely block recovery during the qualifying period.1 These are not waivers requiring an application for the underlying block: they are mandatory exemptions that DSS must honor.

Recovery cannot be pursued while any of the following is true:

1. A surviving spouse is alive (any age). Recovery is deferred for the full duration of the surviving spouse's lifetime.
2. A surviving child under 21 years old is alive.
3. A surviving child of any age who is blind or permanently and totally disabled under SSI standards (42 USC § 1382c) is alive.
4. The home is the lawful residence of a sibling with an equity interest in the home, who lived in the home at least one year before the recipient was institutionalized.
5. The home is the lawful residence of a son or daughter who lived in the home at least two years before the recipient was institutionalized and who provided care that delayed or prevented institutionalization (the "caregiver child" protection).

A word on the surviving spouse deferral: the block lasts during the spouse's lifetime, meaning recovery could theoretically be sought against identifiable property inherited by the spouse after their own death. In practice, most estates settle in ways that make this theoretical recovery unlikely, but families with a high-value home that a surviving spouse intends to leave to adult children should speak with an elder-law attorney about retitling options during the spouse's lifetime.

The Hardship Waiver

Federal law at 42 USC § 1396p(b)(3) requires Connecticut to maintain procedures for waiving estate recovery in cases of undue hardship.1 CMS State Medicaid Manual § 3810.C identifies three recognized hardship categories:

• The asset subject to recovery is the sole income-producing asset of the surviving family (for example, a family farm or small business that provides the family's only income).
• The asset is a homestead of modest value.
• Other compelling circumstances exist that would make recovery unjust.

To request a hardship waiver, families or estate administrators submit the request to Connecticut DSS along with supporting documentation explaining why recovery would cause undue hardship. DSS reviews the application and makes a determination.

If DSS denies the hardship waiver, the family has a right to appeal. Connecticut's DSS fair hearing process provides a formal avenue for challenging a denial. Families in this situation benefit from elder-law attorney guidance, as the documentation requirements and appeal procedures can be detailed.

Note on compliance. A November 2025 survey by Justice in Aging reviewed all 50 states' hardship-waiver processes. Connecticut was not flagged as out of compliance; states must maintain a functional hardship-waiver process under federal law, and most do.

How to Respond After a Loved One Passes Away

When a Connecticut Medicaid LTC recipient dies, the family or estate administrator should contact the Connecticut Department of Social Services to report the death and initiate the estate recovery review. Here is how that process typically works.

DSS contact information is available on the Connecticut Department of Social Services website.

Connecticut-Specific Context: A 209(b) State

Connecticut is a section 209(b) state, meaning it adopted its own Medicaid eligibility rules that predate the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and can be stricter than the federal Medicaid floor in some areas. In 2026, Connecticut's long-term-care Medicaid asset limit is $1,600 in countable assets for a single applicant, lower than the $2,000 federal SSI default.3 The Personal Needs Allowance that a nursing-facility resident keeps is $75 per month under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17b-272 (unchanged since July 1, 2021, and fixed by statute rather than inflation-adjusted, so verify the current amount with DSS).4

These eligibility rules determine who qualifies for Connecticut HUSKY Health LTC coverage and, by extension, who is potentially subject to estate recovery at death. Families who are unsure whether a deceased relative was enrolled in LTC Medicaid or received qualifying services should review DSS records or consult with an elder-law attorney before assuming estate recovery applies.

Planning Tools Worth Knowing

If a Connecticut resident is planning ahead for potential Medicaid LTC enrollment, a few strategies may reduce or eliminate estate recovery exposure. These are planning decisions with complex legal, tax, and timing implications; none should be pursued without an elder-law attorney's review.

Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death designations. Bank and investment accounts with named beneficiaries pass outside probate and are generally not subject to estate recovery from the probate estate. This is one of the most accessible and common planning tools.

Life insurance with a named beneficiary. Life insurance proceeds paid to a named individual beneficiary (not to the estate) also pass outside probate.

Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT). An irrevocable trust funded more than five years before a Medicaid LTC application can move assets outside both the Medicaid eligibility calculation and the recoverable estate, subject to the federal look-back rules at 42 USC § 1396p(c). These require significant lead time and give up substantial control.

Caregiver-child transfer. Federal law at 42 USC § 1396p(c)(2)(A)(iv) permits transfer of the home to a son or daughter who resided in the home for at least two years immediately before the parent became institutionalized and provided care that permitted the parent to stay at home, without triggering a transfer penalty for Medicaid eligibility.2 The separate caregiver-child protection under 42 USC § 1396p(b)(2)(B)(iii) shields the home from estate recovery while that child resides there.

Spousal planning. Connecticut is generally counted among the handful of states whose practice has allowed spousal refusal under 42 USC § 1396r-5(c)(3). This is a specialized planning tool with complex implications, and state practice can change; an elder-law attorney familiar with current Connecticut Medicaid practice should be consulted before relying on it.

Learn More

Find personalized help with Connecticut Medicaid estate recovery at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.