Tag Archives: permissible transfers

When Are a MassHealth Applicant’s Intentions Considered in Determining Whether a Disqualifying Transfer Occurred?

June 15, 2012 – 11:53 am

by: Brian E. Barreira, Esq.

There are many exceptions to disqualifying transfers in federal Medicaid law that the MassHealth program has been required to implement.   If a potential disqualifying does not fit into the categories of permissible transfers, then MassHealth is required to determine what the MassHealth applicant’s intentions were when the transfer occurred.

One exception to a disqualifying transfer occurs when the MassHealth applicant had made the transfer exclusively for a purpose other than obtaining MassHealth eligibility.  This one situation where ignorance of the law can be an excuse for what was done.  Unfortunately, anybody can claim that he/she didn’t know about the law, so hearing officers expect a compelling case to be made, and if there is even a hint of MassHealth planning or knowledge, they can easily rule against the MassHealth applicant.

Another expectation to a disqualifying transfer involves an attempt to receive fair market value or other valuable consideration.

Advertisement
By Brian E. Barreira | Posted in Gifts & Disqualifying Transfers, MassHealth Application Process, MassHealth Denials and Appeals, Permissible Transfers | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Despite Medicaid Transfer Restrictions, Some Transfers of the Home are Always Safe

November 20, 2010 – 11:29 am

by: Brian E. Barreira, Esq.

A person’s home can sometimes be given away without penalty or disqualification from MassHealth even after a nursing home stay has begun.

While many transfers of the home are subject to a period of disqualification from payment of nursing home costs by the state Medicaid program, some transfers can be made even after a nursing home stay has begun, and are immediately safe under federal law. (Other exceptions, especially in California, may apply under state interpretations of the federal law.)

One such permissible transfer is to the elder’s spouse. If one spouse becomes institutionalized, the home could probably be deeded to the spouse remaining in the couple’s home. This plan may not be very helpful to the family if the spouse who is institutionalized later receives the home back by will. Married couples that wish to have such action taken in case one of them becomes incompetent should have durable powers of attorney empowering each other to transfer the home.

Another permissible transfer is to (presumably reward) a child who spent no less than the 2 years immediately prior to the client’s institutionalization living in the client’s home and who took care of the client in the client’s home. The care must have been of the type which kept the client out of a nursing home. Since the state Medicaid program makes the decision as to whether these requirements were met, the child would be well-advised to keep detailed records during this period.

Another permissible transfer is to a child who is a minor or who is blind or disabled, or to an irrevocable for the benefit of a disabled child.

Finally, a transfer could also be made to a sibling who has an equity interest in the home and who has lived there for no less than one year prior to the client’s institutionalization; this exception could arguably apply if the client and sibling were co-owners of a multi-family home.

Even if the exceptions outlined above do not apply to the situation, in some cases there may be other steps that can be taken even after a nursing home stay has begun.

By Brian E. Barreira | Posted in Gifts & Disqualifying Transfers, Permissible Transfers, Protecting the Home | Also tagged , | Comments (1)