A technical notice for consumers and Maryland elder law professionals.
In a dramatic shift in Medicaid policy, Maryland now will look at asset transfers by a spouse living in the community to determine whether the spouse in the nursing home may continue to receive Medicaid benefits. Previously, once Medicaid eligibility was granted, the community spouse could make gifts of assets or create a life estate deed with no adverse consequence to the spouse in the nursing home. Now, however, the Maryland Medicaid authorities state that such actions by the community spouse will cause the spouse in the nursing home to lose Medicaid benefits. Click the Contact Us link at the top of the page if you would like to learn more about this recent development in the law.