Q: Mother was taking care of grandmother. Mother then dies. Grandson steps in to take care of grandmother. Together they get a Quit Claim Deed. Grandmother gets injury to foot. The doctor advises ER visit. Grandmother kept 3 days then moved to nursing facility for “rehabilitation”. The nursing facility moves grandmother into extended stay. Medicaid takes over after 3months. Medicaid put lien on house approximately 4 months later. Quit Claim Deed was already in place but not recorded yet. (West Mifflin, PA)

A: Medicaid can look back for a period of five years at all transfers of real and personal property by a Medicaid applicant. If the transfer was done without fair consideration, for example, by gift, the transferred property can be considered part of the applicant’s estate. If so, Medicaid can exclude the applicant from funding to the extent of the value of the property. This is what sounds like happened here. It would be worth your while to have the case reviewed by an attorney versed in Medicaid regulations. There may be an exception if a disabled child was living the home or a child serving as a caretaker of the applicant lived in the home for a two-year period prior to hospitalization. In addition, there are permissible exclusions in the spend down process that you may want to be advised on.