January 22, 1996
Natalie J. Kaplan, Esq..
30 Vesey Street - Suite 1903
New York,
New York 10007
Dear Ms. Kaplan:
This is in response to your recent inquiries concerning this Department's interpretation of the language in Federal and State Medicaid statutes referring to a penalty for uncompensated transfers of assets which are made "within or after" the applicable look-back period (emphasis added).
Specifically, you were concerned that transfers of assets by a community spouse after the institutionalized spouse was determined eligible for MA would result in a period of ineligibility for the institutionalized spouse. with your November 20, 1995 letter, you attached A document in which a Health Care Financing Administration official in Region VIII is quoted as stating::
In any case, once an institutionalized individual has been found to be eligible and has affected the appropriate transfers of assets to the community spouse, any decisions made with regard to those assets by the community spouse will not affect the institutionalized spouse. In effecting an uncompensated transfer, the community spouse may be jeopardizing his/her. own eligibility for nursing facility care, but not that of the spouse already eligible in an institution.
The Department concurs in this interpretation of the statutory language. I hope this addresses your concerns.
Sincerely,
Daniel J. Tarantino
Assistant Counsel
Bureau of Health and
Long Term Care Law
DJT.djt
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