Transfer of Assets

Transfer of assets refers to the general prohibition against a person applying for or receiving Medicaid from transferring assets without compensation. A transfer of assets may result in a penalty period for Medicaid payment for institutional care or ineligibility for Medicaid.

Income that is diverted to a QIT is not a transfer of assets when used for payment of institutional services or home and community-based waiver services for the beneficiary. Any distributions to the recipient's spouse and allowable payments for trust administration as described above are not considered a transfer of assets. Distributions from the QIT that are not made to or for the benefit of the beneficiary or their community-based spouse are considered a transfer of assets.

Also, if the trustee fails to make distributions from income deposited into the trust account in the month of receipt by the end of the following month, such failure to timely distribute the income is considered a transfer of assets.

Sample QIT (PDF)