Obamacare may cause the government to seize homes from the estates of poor people

In the past 20 years, the state of California has seized $978.5 million worth of assets from the estates of medicaid recipients.
Obamacare requires everyone in the U.S. whose income is less than 138% of the poverty level to enroll in medicaid.
Based on those two pieces of information, it seems likely that Obamacare will result in the homes of quite a few poor people being seized by the government.
The Los Angeles Times reports:

One thing the ACA didn’t change was Medicaid’s estate recovery rule. Under a law enacted in 1993, states are required to seek recovery from the estates of deceased enrollees for the costs of long-term care, such as nursing-home care. The recovery rule applied to those who received that care when they were 55 and older, or who were permanently institutionalized at any age.

Medicaid eligibility for the expanded programs is based on income alone, which means there might be some new members with low incomes but sizable illiquid estates, such as homes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The prospect of asset seizures raises people’s hackles, especially since under the Affordable Care Act, those earning less than 138% of the poverty level may be offered no choice for subsidized health insurance except Medicaid.

On the whole, the estate recovery program hasn’t been a big moneymaker for government at any level. Since 1993, California has collected $978.5 million