TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program, is "stepping up its efforts" to sell deceased beneficiaries' homes to "recoup some of the roughly $1 billion" annually that the state pays for long-term care, the Tennessean reports.
Under state law, the property of deceased individuals can be passed to their heirs without going to probate court.
However, TennCare recently has been petitioning the court to open the estates.
In April, the program hired an outside consulting firm to help find properties that were passed on without going to probate.
In addition, the TennCare Bureau is looking to extend the statute of limitations on petitioning a court to obtain a property.
State officials say they are doing what is required of the federal government, noting that Tennessee is not as aggressive in its pursuit of properties as other states.
Marilyn Wilson, a spokesperson for TennCare, said the acquisitions are "something that we wouldn't be unsympathetic to," adding, "If we are going to provide Medicaid coverage, we must actively engage in estate recovery efforts" (Burke, Tennessean, 10/23).