What is the Medicaid penalty period?
During the Medicaid look back period, you can’t give away your money (without receiving equal value in return) and go on Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Medicaid. If you do, a Medicaid penalty period will result. During the Medicaid penalty period, the Medicaid applicant is treated as if she still had the gifted funds. During this period, Medicaid will not pay for long-term care.
How long with the Medicaid penalty period be?
The sum of all the gifts made during the look back period is added. Then the total of those gifts is divided by the applicable Medicaid divisor. The result of this equation is the Medicaid penalty period.
Example. The Medicaid penalty divisor is $374.39 per day, or $11,387.69 per month. If I give away the sum of $11,387.69 during the look back period, the total gifts ($11,387.69) are divided by the Medicaid divisor of $374.39 per day. The resulting penalty is just over 30 days. A penalty period of about one month will apply on my Medicaid application, without an exemption.
Why can even a short Medicaid penalty period be a big problem? During the Medicaid penalty period, Medicaid will not pay for my long-term care. If I am already poor and living in a nursing home, how will I get the money to pay my nursing home bill? This can be a real challenge. No nursing home or assisted living facility will provide free care.
Increase in the Medicaid penalty divisor.
The higher the divisor, the shorter the penalty period will be. On May 24, 2022, the State of New Jersey increased the Medicaid penalty divisor to a rate of $374.39 per day. The new divisor applies to Medicaid applications filed on or after April 1, 2022. Increase_in_the_Penalty_Divisor_Effective_4-1-2022.
Medicaid Penalty Traps
Unfortunately, the Medicaid penalty period can be a trap for the unwary. A penalty period can be imposed even with no gifts during the Medicaid look back period. The recent decision of H.L. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services et als. shows what can go wrong. The Final Agency Decision is available online at H.L.vDMAHS&MonmouthCty
In that case, a Medicaid application was filed on behalf of H.L. with the Monmouth County Medicaid office. The Medicaid office reviewed H.L.’s bank records. H.L. withdrew about $58,000 during the Medicaid look back period. No gifts were made. The cash was spent on everyday living expenses, including rent. Some of the withdrawals were made after H.L. moved into a nursing home.
The Medicaid office computed a 162 day Medicaid penalty period. H.L. was now in a difficult situation. Unless the Medicaid penalty period was removed, H.L. would have an unpaid long-term care bill of approximately $60,000.
Reducing the Penalty with a Medicaid Fair Hearing.
The solution in H.L.’s case was to file for a Fair Hearing. On Fair Hearing, the Medicaid penalty period was reduced by the amount of the rent. The penalty period might have been avoided with better documentation of H.L.’s expenses.
How An Elder Law Attorney Can Help You.
Applying for Medicaid may appear simple, until it’s not. Doing it yourself or using a non-attorney Medicaid advisory service) can be like wading through quicksand. You may not realize you are in trouble until it is too late. Once assessed, a. Medicaid penalty can be difficult to remove. Fortunately, a seasoned elder law legal team can help obtain Medicaid coverage with as little stress as possible.
For more information on how we can help you with your New Jersey Medicaid planning and application, contact the Law Office of Jane M. Fearn-Zimmer, at telephone number (856) 938-8578 or visit the firm’s website at https://fearnzimmerelderlaw.com.