Transfer of Assets in the Medicaid Program: Important Facts for State Policymakers, January 8, 2008, by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
This document summarizes important changes to the Medicaid eligibility rules made by the U.S. Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. These include significant changes that tightened the asset transfer rules applying to determine whether and when a person can qualify for Medicaid after having transferred assets to others for less than fair market value. The intention was to make it harder for those with means to gift assets to others (usually their children) in order to satisfy the low asset and income tests that would qualify them to have Medicaid pay for their long-term care expenses. Among other changes, the “look back period” for disqualifying asset transfers was lengthened to 60 months. This summary document contains links to two other documents with more extensive and detailed explanations of the legal changes to the asset transfer rules made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
»View details (pdf): Medicaid Facts for State Policymakers
