Witnesses tell House Medicaid Committee HB 318 would limit Medicaid estate recovery that can force older Ohioans from family homes

Proponents and affected residents told the House Medicaid Committee that Ohio's Medicaid estate-recovery program has saddled older Ohioans and their families with unexpected bills and threatened home loss, and they urged the committee to pass House Bill 318 to limit those recoveries.

Bob Weldon, speaking as a proponent, said he represents "thousands" of people age 55 and older who enrolled in Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act and later discovered estate-recovery claims against their estates. "The state of Ohio has failed in the last 11 and a half years to provide any meaningful notification," Weldon said, describing cases in which people were told by hotlines that their coverage was "not subject to recovery" when, Weldon said, it in fact was.

Erin Campbell, a staff attorney at Pro Seniors, described the consequences for families and communities. "Medicaid estate recovery is heartbreaking and financially…