“This could end up with the deceased person’s heirs losing homes, property and other assets.”
Heirs losing inheritance. Not their own assets they’ve earned.
Not necesarily. My father went into a nursing home after he had a catastrophic stroke that was beyond my ability to manage. It was paid for by Medicare, and he by that time no longer had any assets. Nevertheless the home came after me for eighty thousands dollars in charges. They were not successful but only because I was a divorced mother making a pittance and did not have any chance of paying such a charge. I inherited nothing to speak of from my father, so this was not losing an inheritance.