In this Elder Law Minute, Steven Milburn explains Medicaid penalty periods, unallowable transfers, and how certain exemptions may help protect eligibility for long-term care benefits.
Medicaid Penalty Periods
Today we’re going to talk about uh unallowable transfers which result in penalty periods for Medicaid long-term care.
How Illinois Reviews Transfers
uh if you’ve applied for Medicaid, the state of Illinois will do a review of your application to determine if you’ve made any unallowable transfers in determining whether or not you’re eligible.
What a Penalty Period Means
Uh and the reason they do that is if you’ve given away money, they’ll put in place what’s called a penalty period.
And that penalty period will prohibit you from receiving state assistance uh until that penalty period is over.
Exceptions and Allowable Circumstances
So penalties are are are not good, but there are ways if you do receive a penalty period that you weren’t expecting to argue that those penalties should be deemed allowable.
There are specific exemptions to those penalties. For example, uh in cases of financial exploitation.
There are certain documents you can provide to show that that penalty was not made for the reason to qualify for benefits.
Factors the State May Consider
There’s also kind of a a broad factor list that we’ll look at, uh, such as age, uh, health, financial condition, uh, and the the purpose of the transfer.
Closing
So, if you have a penalty period or you’re concerned about a penalty period, you can give us a call at Den Coulson Elder Loan. We’ll help guide you through it.
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Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.