Governor Brown vetoed SB 1124, by Senator Ed Hernandez, which
would have limited estate recovery in California to those age 55
and over to only the health care services required to be
recovered under federal law. Additionally, it would have
eliminated recovery against the estate of a surviving spouse of a
deceased Medi-Cal beneficiary. SB 1124 required DHCS to provide
to Medi-Cal beneficiaries, free-of-charge, the total amount of
Medi-Cal expenses paid on behalf of the beneficiary that are
subject to estate recovery. This bill also required DHCS to post
information regarding how to request this information.
CSAC supported SB 1124 as it aimed to encourage individuals over
the age of 55 to enroll in Medi-Cal by alleviating some key
deterrents resulting from to estate recovery. CSAC sent a joint
letter to the Governor requesting that he sign this measure into
law. Governor Brown’s veto message stated SB 1124 was a
reasonable policy goal, however the cost needed to be considered
alongside other worthwhile policy changes in the budget process
next year.
