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 lists of all assets and their value at the time of the transfer, if the applicant claims the assets were not transferred to become Medicaid eligible; and  documents such as deeds or wills, if real property was transferred

ESA will notify the applicant of a decision regarding a hardship waiver. A denial of a hardship waiver may be appealed at the Office of Administrative Hearings.

See also AZ: Elderly and Physically Disabled Home-And-Community-Based Services Waiver in Section 1.28: Transfer of Assets in Part VI.

Impoverished Spouse: Once initial Community Medicaid eligibility has been established, assets that were not used to determine the eligibility of the institutionalized spouse (i.e., the Protected Spousal Amount) must be legally transferred to the community spouse. In order for an institutionalized spouse to maintain eligibility, assets cannot be attributed to the community spouse but must actually be made available (i.e., transferred to the community spouse's name) to meet his/her needs in the community. This transfer must be completed by the first annual recertification following the initial LTC determination that considered the assets. Any assets that are not transferred by the first annual recertification must be counted to determine the eligibility of the institutionalized spouse until they are actually transferred to the community spouse.

When the institutionalized spouse acquires additional assets after the Protected Spousal Amount (see Section 2.3.3a: Protected Spousal Amount in this Chapter) has been calculated and initial Community Medicaid eligibility has been established, the additional assets are excluded and do not affect continuing eligibility when either of the following conditions exists:

 The new assets combined with the other assets the institutionalized spouse intends to retain do not exceed the asset limit for one person, or  The institutionalized spouse intends to transfer the new assets to the community spouse who has assets below the Spousal Share allowance (see Section 2.3.3b: Spousal Share in this Chapter).

To exclude the additional assets, the institutionalized spouse or his/her authorized representative (see Section 1.6.2: Filing an Application/Accessing Benefits on Behalf of an Individual or Group in Part III) must promptly report the receipt of the new assets and must provide the SSR with a written statement that s/he intends to transfer the new assets to the community spouse immediately

Example Two months after Mr. Ross is determined to be eligible for Community Medicaid, he inherits $4,000 from a deceased sibling. He promptly reports his inheritance and provides the worker with a written statement that he intends to transfer $2,000 of the $4,000 to Mrs. Ross. When the $2,000 of the inheritance is added to the Protected Spousal Allowance amount of $9,000, the community spouse's assets now total $11,000, which is less than the Community Spouse Assets Allowance. Mr. Ross continues to be eligible for Community Medicaid because his assets ($2,000) are below the asset limit for one person. Annuities

For the purpose of this chapter, the purchase of an annuity by an institutionalized or community spouse will be treated as a transfer of assets for less than fair market value unless: