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Title 8: Medicaid Page 81 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter D: Resources General Non-MAGI-Related Resource Policies Revised September 13, 2024 Determining the Value of a Resource

1. Mr. M applies for nursing facility assistance. He has listed his home on the market in January at the assessed value of $125,000. By May, he has not had an offer. Mr. M then lowers the price of his home to $120,000. In July there are still no offers on the home. In August, he again lowers the asking price to $116, 000. In September, the home sells for $112,000. As long as Mr. M can provide verification of the listings, sale of the home is not considered to be a transfer of assets, because Mr. M tried to sell the home for fair market value. The fair market value is considered to be the amount that the home sold for. 2. Ms. J applies for Medicaid. She has a home with a current assessed value of $95,000. She lists her home for $95,000 and after two months has not yet had an offer. Ms. J drops the listing on her home to $45,000 and sells her home two weeks later. The sale is considered to be a transfer of assets for less than fair market value. When determining the equity value of a resource:  Deduct from the current market value only the principal amount of the debt and any prepayment penalties required. Do not consider any future interest owed.  Determine the ownership of jointly held resources, such as joint checking or savings accounts and jointly held real estate, according to the intent of the parties who created the joint interests upon the creation of the joint interest. If the document creating the joint interests, such as a deed to real estate or a bank account signature card, specifies the shares of the parties, divide the fair market value of the entire resource between the joint owners according to the shares specified. If the shares of the joint owners are not specified, assume equal shares for all joint owners, unless evidence of intent shows unequal shares. Examples of evidence of intent showing unequal shares include: • The source of the funds used to purchase or create the joint resource. • The use made of the joint resource. • The inclusion of one of the joint owners as a caretaker for the convenience of the other, etc.  If excluded funds are combined with countable resources, assume the countable resources are spent first.