"Elevating Voices" Collegiate Competition Awards Three Winners in Medicaid Estate Recovery Project

VIENNA, Va., May 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) Foundation today awarded the top three winners of its nationwide "Elevating Voices" collegiate competition focused on addressing the negative impact of Medicaid Estate Recovery on generational wealth and racial inequities. American University received first place, followed by the University of Michigan in second place and the University of Pittsburgh in third place, for their work in researching and proposing innovative solutions to this problem.

The competition is part of a grant funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to look at the impact of Medicaid Estate Recovery. Under federal law, state Medicaid programs must seek to recover certain benefits paid to enrollees 55 or older, or those of any age who are permanently institutionalized, upon the enrollee's death, even if the state would prefer not to seek such recovery.

Enrollees may unknowingly lose assets such as their homes as part of Medicaid Estate Recovery. As a result, it often disproportionately affects the poorest and most marginalized Americans, as well as formerly middle-class Americans impoverished by long-term care expenses — leading to housing loss and widening economic, social, and racial disparities.

As part of the competition, students prepared a quantitative analysis to highlight how the loss of such homes affects the individual's family as well as society as a whole. Their findings will be used to help educate policymakers and the general public about this issue.

In addition, as part of the grant, the NAELA Foundation will share personal stories of individuals who have been affected by Medicaid Estate Recovery.

"We were extremely impressed by the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of the students' work on this issue, which too often ends up devastating family members at a time when they are dealing with a loved one's death," said Bridget O'Brien Swartz, Chair of the NAELA Foundation Board of Trustees. "With thousands of people affected by Medicaid Estate Recovery each year, the students' outstanding work will help us bring more widespread attention to this important issue on Capitol Hill and around the country."

Judges for the competition included Jason A. Frank, Of Counsel at Stavely & Sallitto Elder Law, Of Counsel to the Law Offices of Michael G. Day and Associates, and an adjunct professor at the Tulane University Law School; Jim Schuster, one of the first elder law attorneys in Michigan; and Mandi Spishak-Thomas, assistant research professor at the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University.

To learn more about the NAELA Foundation, click here. For more information about the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, click here.

About the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) Foundation
The NAELA Foundation is dedicated to advancing legal services for older adults and people with disabilities through innovative research, impactful scholarship and education, and strategic support for litigation. It is an affiliated 501(c)(3) entity of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the leading professional association for elder and special needs law.

SOURCE National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)