Maine may seize cottages to cover Medicaid

AUGUSTA — Maine's budget proposal would allow jointly owned camps or summer cottages to be seized to help reimburse the state for Medicaid expenses.

Many Maine families have owned and maintained camps or summer cottages through joint tenancy deeds, which permit them to keep the property within their families.

But as Maine Public Radio reports, the state would get the power to seize those properties in some cases. Health and Human Services Commissioner Brenda Harvey says the change would allow the state to be reimbursed for its costs if one of the property owners uses Medicaid funding to pay for long-term care.

Under present law, those properties can't count as an asset toward their expenses.