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Louisiana Medicaid Eligibility Manual Eligibility Factors

Reissued October 21, 2025 Page 1 of I-1670 Replacing January 27, 2025 Revised/added text indicated by underscore Deleted text indicated by “**” I-1670 TRANSFER OF ASSETS FOR LESS THAN FAIR MARKET VALUE (FMV)

I-1671 GENERAL INFORMATION

An institutionalized individual who is applying or approved for long-term care (LTC) or home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver, or the spouse of the individual, that disposes of assets for less than fair market value (FMV) during or after the look-back period may not be eligible for payment of services. The look-back period for an institutionalized individual is the 60 months prior to applying for Medicaid.

Any income or resources transferred during or after the 60-month look- back period must be evaluated to determine if FMV was received in exchange for the asset. If FMV was not received in exchange for the asset, a period of ineligibility, known as a penalty period, must be served by the institutionalized individual. During the penalty period, Medicaid will not pay for the services provided in a nursing facility or by an HCBS waiver program.

Note: Do not apply the transfer of assets rules to the Program of All- inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

The transfer of an asset for less than FMV is presumed to be for the purpose of qualifying for Medicaid, unless the individual presents convincing evidence that the transfer was exclusively for some other purpose.

The individual shall be offered the opportunity to rebut the presumption that a transfer was made to reduce assets in order to qualify for Medicaid. Convincing evidence must be provided that proves that the transfer was done solely for a reason other than to qualify for Medicaid.

For every case in which a penalty period is determined, the individual shall be offered the opportunity to apply for an undue hardship exception. It is the responsibility of the individual to provide convincing evidence that imposing a penalty period would deprive the individual of medical care such that the individual’s health or life would be endangered or of food, clothing, shelter, or other necessities of life.