Report Examines Asset Transfer To Qualify for Medicaid, USA

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 13 May 2005 - 19:00 PDT

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"Medicaid's Coverage of Nursing Home Costs: Asset Shelter for the Wealthy or Essential Safety Net?": Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project: Although some critics say that Medicaid covers nursing home care for many people who transfer their assets to qualify for the program, there is "little evidence" to support that claim, according to the report by Ellen O'Brien, associate professor at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. The report, which reviews empirical evidence on asset transfers, notes that there is no evidence that the elderly are transferring assets or trusts to "significantly shift cost burdens to Medicaid" or that people who do transfer assets are able to achieve Medicaid eligibility. According to the report, seniors who expect to use nursing home care save more than seniors who do not expect to need nursing home care services (O'Brien, "Medicaid's Coverage of Nursing Home Costs: Asset Shelter for the Wealthy or Essential Safety Net?" May 2005).

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