In this section: Why you can't give it away . Possible criminal penalties for transferring assets. What is a look back period. How to figure out periods of disqualification. Transferring assets is the BIG NO NO. If you have too many assets why can't you just give them away so that you meet the eligibility criteria? Sounds too easy and as with most things; if it sounds too easy, you can't do it. The government is not going to allow you to simply give the assets away in order to reduce your asset level. There are very strict rules prohibiting the transfer of assets to become eligible for Medicaid benefits. Recent legislation tried to criminalize the transfer of assets to become eligible for benefits. The law was amended on August 17, 1997 and now it instead of it being a crime for you to transfer asset the law only imposes criminal sanctions on people who recommend the transfer of assets to become eligible for Medicaid. See the section on criminalization for more information on this subject. Look Back Periods The transfer of assets only acts to disqualify you if you transfer assets within a certain period of time before you apply for benefits. This period of time is called a look back period. There are two look back periods one which goes back 36 months the other 60 months. If you transfer assets within the 36 months prior to application for Medicaid there will be a period of ineligibility imposed during which time the applicant will not be eligible for benefits. This period is based on a simple formula that takes the amount of assets transferred and divides that number by the average cost of care in your state. The resulting number equals the amount of months that the applicant will have to wait until benefits may be received. The 60 month period is used to disqualify people who have made a transfer to an irrevocable trust within the last 60 months. Do not worry about transfers made between spouses. Interspousal transfers; transfer between spouses, are not considered transfers so there are no penalties for transferring assets between husband and wife.

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