Medicaid Proposals

At the end of April, the United States House of Representatives held hearings regarding Medicaid qualification, especially the computation of the disqualification period.

Under current law, the normal 36 month disqualification period begins to run from the date a Medicaid applicant transfers property which could otherwise have been used to pay for nursing home care.

Under one of the proposals, this period would run from the date the applicant applies for benefits.  This would in many cases lengthen the wait an applicant would have prior to receiving benefits.

One on hand, this proposal would save taxpayers money and keep people who “plan to be poor” to get Medicaid benefits off of the dole for a little while longer.  But, on the other hand, this proposal could place undo hardship on needy individuals.

Another proposal is to lengthen the look back period which is currently 36 months for outright gifts and 60 months for gifts in trust.

For more information, see the statement made by Bernard A. Krooks, past president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, at Congressional hearings on April 27, 2005.