Imani Mfalme poses for a portrait outside her late mother's house Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. Mfalme's mother suffered from Alzheimer's and was placed in long term care. After her death the state is now trying to lay claim to the estate to pay for that care. (AP Photo/Caitie McMekin)
Imani Mfalme poses for a portrait inside her late mother's house Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. Mfalme's mother suffered from Alzheimer's and was placed in long term care. After her death the state is now trying to lay claim to the estate to pay for that care. (AP Photo/Caitie McMekin)
FILE - Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., speaks at a rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 28, 2022. The federal government requires every state to recover money from the assets of dead people who, in their final years, relied on Medicaid for long-term care. Now, critics want the federal government to stop doing that because, they say, the program collects a bit of money from the poorest people. Schakowsky reintroduced legislation that would end the federal government's mandate. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
FILE - A member of the Mississippi House of Representatives studies an outline on Mississippi Medicaid provided to the House Medicaid Committee at the Mississippi Capitol, Feb. 7, 2024, in Jackson, Miss. The federal government requires every state to recover money from the assets of dead people who, in their final years, relied on Medicaid for long-term care. Now, critics want the federal government to stop doing that because, they say, the program collects a bit of money from the poorest people. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Imani Mfalme poses for a portrait inside her late mother's house Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. Mfalme's mother suffered from Alzheimer's and was placed in long term care. After her death the state is now trying to lay claim to the estate to pay for that care. (AP Photo/Caitie McMekin)
Imani Mfalme poses for a portrait outside her late mother's house Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. Mfalme's mother suffered from Alzheimer's and was placed in long term care. After her death the state is now trying to lay claim to the estate to pay for that care. (AP Photo/Caitie McMekin)
FILE - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building is seen, April 5, 2009, in Washington. The federal government requires every state to recover money from the assets of dead people who, in their final years, relied on Medicaid for long-term care. Now, critics want the federal government to stop doing that because, they say, the program collects a bit of money from the poorest people. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)