Medicaid Policy                                                                 

575-8 Returning Transferred Assets

Effective Date: October 1, 2010

Contact DHHS Policy Specialist for Previous Policy (371-8 was renumbered to 575-8 as of November 1, 2017)

Do not restrict Medicaid services if the full value of assets has been returned to the individual before you begin the penalty period.  If the individual still has the asset, use it to determine eligibility.

For retroactive months, treat the case as if the individual had the asset the whole time up until the time the assets were returned to the individual and used for the benefit of the individual or the spouse.

If Medicaid services have been restricted because an individual has transferred assets and the full value of the assets are later returned, re-determine eligibility for nursing home services as follows:

1. Count the returned assets as if the individual had them the whole time.

2. Do not change the past months of eligibility if the amount of returned assets would have caused the individual to exceed the resource limit. Do not change the eligibility for ancillary services because the individual did not actually have the assets until they were returned.

• Do not change past months of eligibility if you determine that the individual would not have been eligible for nursing home or long-term care Medicaid services.

Determine how much uncompensated value exists if only part of the asset is returned. Medical expenses paid by someone else on behalf of the individual are not considered assets returned to the individual.

• Treat the returned assets as if the individual had them all along.

• Re-determine eligibility based on what was returned. Close the case if the individual is over assets.

• If the individual is ineligible because of assets, the penalty period may need to be adjusted to begin when the individual would have otherwise been eligible.  Contact the Medicaid Program Specialist for help in re-determining the penalty period, if needed.

• If the individual claims to have used the assets, verify how and when the individual used the assets. The returned assets must be used for his or her own benefit or for the benefit of the spouse.