Minnesota''s request appears virtually identical to a request the state submitted in October 1993 and that was rejected by the Health Care Financing Administration. Like Connecticut, Minnesota is seeking permission to change the start of the penalty period for uncompensated asset transfers from the beginning of the month the assets are transferred to the beginning of the month that an individual applies for Medicaid and is otherwise eligible.
But in addition:
- The look-back period for uncompensated asset transfers would increased from 36 months to 72 months;
- Transfers of excluded assets, such as vehicles and valuable jewelry, would also be penalized as uncompensated transfers;
- Transfers to spouses for less than fair market value after Medicaid eligibility is established would be permitted only to an amount allowed under spousal impoverishment asset provisions;
- Penalty periods would apply for all Medicaid services for a calculated period, rather than simply affecting eligibility for long-term care services;
- The divisor used to calculate a penalty period would be changed to the statewide average nursing facility payment made by Medicaid;
- Transfer of the institutionalized person's interest in a homestead even to specified relatives would be prohibited, although the homestead could be excluded as long as the specified relative continued to reside in the homestead;
- Restrictions on transfers to trusts would be tightened.
- The state would have discretion to designate some trust purposes as invalid. For example, transfers to trusts established for the care of a pet would not be considered a valid trust purpose.
Minnesota''s Department of Human Services has issued a request for comments on the waiver request, which must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, 2003.
To download the waiver request in PDF format, click on: https://www.dhs.state.mn.us/HealthCare/waivers/Asset-Transfers-Waiver-2003.pdf
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