• Medicare and bills after death
• Debts after death
• Exceptions
• Summary

Medicare will stop paying benefits once a person has died, meaning their medical coverage, including coverage for hospital bills, will stop.

Generally, a person’s estate will cover any debts after death. The debt will usually go unpaid if the estate can not cover the bills. Sometimes, people may be legally required to pay the deceased person’s debts.

This article looks at Medicare coverage of hospital bills after death, what to expect with debts after death, and exceptions in which people may be responsible for the debts.

Does Medicare cover hospital bills after death?

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Once a person has died, Medicare will cancel the coverage and benefits the Medicare beneficiary was receiving.

People must report a death to the Social Security Administration (SSA) by providing the funeral director with the person’s Social Security number or by calling the local SSA office.

After a person dies, their estate will generally pay any unpaid hospital bills. Their estate is the total of the assets that they owned.

Each state may have a different time frame for collecting medical debt after a person dies, and the time frame can also vary depending on the type of debt.

Generally, creditors have a set time frame to claim debt from a person’s estate. This period can range between a few months to several years. Once the set time frame has passed, creditors may be unable to collect the debt.

Learn more about Medicare.

What to expect with debts after death

When a person dies, their estate pays for any debts. Their estate may include money, property, land, and belongings.

If a person makes a will and names an executor, the executor uses the estate to pay the debts. If an individual does not make a will, a judge decides how to allocate their estate and appoints an administrator to distribute it.

If an estate does not have enough funds to pay all remaining debts, the available assets will pay any debts in order of priority:

• Secured debts, such as mortgages or loans for cars, are generally paid first.
• Unsecured debts, such as medical debt, are usually paid next.
• If there are any remaining assets, the will or state laws will determine their distribution, such as to any heirs.

Certain assets will go to any named beneficiary the assets have. This may include retirement accounts or life insurance policies.

If a person does not have enough in their estate to pay off debt, it generally does not fall to family members to pay the debt. In many cases, creditors will cancel the debt if the estate does not cover it, and the debt will go unpaid.

It may be possible to discharge medical debt through bankruptcy after a person dies, although this can be a complex process and may not apply to all forms of medical debt.

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Exceptions

There are certain exceptions in which family members or spouses may be legally required to pay debts after a person has died. These exceptions include:

• Cosigned medical paperwork: If a person has cosigned medical paperwork or signed it on behalf of another individual, they may be responsible for the medical debt. This may include hospital admission papers or authorizations for treatments. Signing these papers can mean an individual has agreed to pay medical costs if insurance does not cover them.
• Executor or administrator of estate: Some state laws may require an executor or administrator of the deceased’s estate to pay outstanding bills from property that the surviving and deceased spouses jointly owned.
• Community property states: Certain states have common law that considers assets and debts that spouses have jointly owned. Community property states may require a spouse to pay half of any medical debts the deceased spouse acquired during the marriage.
• Necessary statutes: Some states have necessary statutes that hold parents and spouses responsible for certain necessary payments, including healthcare costs.

Common property states include the following states:

• California
• Texas
• Idaho
• Washington
• New Mexico
• Louisiana
• Arizona
• Nevada
• Wisconsin
• Alaska, in cases where people sign a special agreement

Other exceptions may include being a joint account holder on a credit card or state laws requiring a spouse to pay certain debts.

If no exceptions apply, the deceased person’s estate will pay the debt, or if this is not possible, the debt will go unpaid.

Summary

Family members or spouses are generally not responsible for paying medical debts, such as hospital bills, after a person has died.

In some cases, there are exceptions where people may have to cover the costs of a debt. This can include people who have cosigned medical bills or if a state has specific laws requiring them to pay the debt.

People can speak with an attorney to find out if they have any responsibility to pay medical bills after a person has died.

Medicare resources

For more resources to help guide you through the complex world of medical insurance, visit our Medicare hub.

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