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5 Elder L.J. 359 (1997)
The State Giveth and the State Taketh Away: In Pursuit of a Practical Approach to Medicaid Estate Recovery

handle is hein.journals/elder5 and id is 367 raw text is: THE STATE GIVETH AND THE STATE TAKETH AWAY: IN PURSUIT OF A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO MEDICAID ESTATE RECOVERY Jon M. Zieger In the wake of skyrocketing Medicaid costs, numerous states have instituted estate recovery programs to infuse additional capital into the failing Medicaid system. However, as the baby boom generation begins to gray, questions as to the intrinsic economic fairness and administrative efficacy of such programs emerge. After ac- knowledging the need to lessen the financial strain created by Medicaid, Mr. Zieger traces the disparate approaches to Medicaid recovery embraced by state governments, as well as finds the common denominator between such seemingly diverse programs. Mr. Zieger also explores the potential impact such programs may have on the elderly, including the impoverished elder who is unable to secure legal advice and the finan- cially secure individual who opts to utilize estate planning as a means of sheltering assets. Moreover, Mr. Zieger points out the way that case law leaves unresolved the amount of assets the surviving family of the Medicaid recipient ultimately may re- ceive from the decedent's estate. Finally, Mr. Zieger concludes by balancing the needs of the genuinely poor with the state's concern for fiscal stability. In balancing these competing needs, Mr. Zieger advocates limiting recovery to estates of a certain size, furnishing adequate notice so that potential Medicaid recipients may make informed decisions as to whether to accept or decline such assistance, and limiting the scope of the Medicaid recipient's estate by embracing the definition of estate as promulgated under state probate codes. Jon M. Zieger graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1997. He was a member of The Elder Law Journal during the 1995-96 academic year and served as a Notes and Comments Editor the following year. Mr. Zieger would like to thank his wife, Meka Zieger, for her thoughtful com- ments and patient support in preparing this note.

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