Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

usually becomes known in late June of each year. See HCPM § 22.35 for
updated standards and guidelines as they are announced.
2. The five-year look-back period required by the Deficit Reduction Act of
2005 (hereafter "DRA '05”) is now fully phased-in for all uncompensated
transfers. See HCPM § 19.40.15. The look-back period starts 60 months
prior to the month of application. For MA applications submitted in June
of 2013, the look-back period will go back from the date of application in
June to the corresponding date in June of 2008. HCPM § 19.40.15.
Uncompensated transfers that occurred prior to June of 2008 do not have to
be reported in a June 2013 application for MA benefits. 12 The look-back
period is just a reporting period; not all transfers of assets for less than fair
value are subject to penalty.
3. A current transfer of assets for less than fair value will be subject to the
look-back period if the transferee or the transferee's spouse applies for
medical assistance benefits within 61 months of the transfer date,
counting both the month of transfer and the month of application.
Transfers are caught by the look-back period if made within the month of
application or the prior 60 months.
PRACTIVE TIP: To be on the safe side, if the goal is to avoid reporting a transfer, no
application should be submitted until a full 61-month period has elapsed following the transfer.
B. COST OF LIVING AND OTHER ADJUSTMENTS
1. SOME NUMBERS HAVE CHANGED; OTHERS
HAVE NOT
Some of the numbers used to determine eligibility for long-term care 13
(hereafter "LTC") benefits change every year on either January 1, or July
1, for applications submitted on or after those dates. Other numbers
are archived and are available through links in each section of the HCPM.
12 The first date on which an applicant submits an application for medical assistance benefits
locks-in the first date of the look-back period, even if the first application is subsequently
withdrawn. No application for medical assistance benefits should ever be submitted without
first determining the starting date of the potential look-back period.
13 Long term care (LTC) is care lasting or expected to last 30 days or longer in an institution.
The term is also applied to care in a home- or community-based setting (HCBS) that lasts or is
expected to last 30 days or longer.
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