When an application is made for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care, government officials will review financial transactions made within 60 months from the first date that a person was institutionalized and applied for Medicaid coverage. The purpose of the look-back rule is to prevent people from making financial transfers one day, thereby impoverishing themselves, and then become immediately eligible for Medicaid.
The look-back rule exists to prevent people from transferring assets that could be used to pay their long-term care expenses. It eliminates, or at least postpones, the possibility of the government having to finance their long-term care through the Medicaid program. For additional information about Medicaid eligibility and regulations, contact your county or state human services agency that administers Medicaid.
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