The Senate recently voted down an amendment to H.R. 1836 that would have made Medicaid estate recovery optional for the states. Currently, states are required to recover the costs of Medicaid services from the estates of deceased Medicaid beneficiaries. 

This includes placing liens on the homes of beneficiaries and even suing estates for repayment. However, some states still have not implemented Medicaid estate recovery rules.

Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) proposed the amendment and suggested scaling back the phased-in reductions in the estate and gift taxes. The amendment was defeated with a vote of 41 to 58.