In Maryland, one is ineligible to receive Medical Assistance, or Medicaid, for long term care in a nursing home if one gives property away, or transfers property for less than full value. Since 2006, this period of ineligibility does not begin to run until the gift giver resides in a nursing home and is out of money.
The period of ineligibility is determined by dividing the amount of the gift (or the aggregate amount of all gifts) by the penalty divisor. The penalty divisor has been $4,300 for many years. For Medicaid applications filed on or after June 1, 2009, the penalty divisor will be $6,800. Using the new divisor, a gift of $68,000 will cause a Medicaid ineligibility period of 10 months, six months less than the penalty that would have been imposed using the old divisor.
Please contact the Gatesman Law Office to learn more about how this change may affect you.