5 year look back

13 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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Jerry Taylor explains Medicaid's 5-year lookback rule through a case where an elderly woman's children put her house in their names to protect it from nursing-home costs. When she needed care three years later, Medicaid denied coverage and forced her to pay $160,000 out-of-pocket at $8,000 a month before resuming benefits. Transferring assets during the lookback period doesn't protect them, it creates a massive bill.

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The kids told their mom to put her house in their name to protect it from the nursing home. Then 3 years later, she needed the nursing home, but she was denied Medicaid benefits to pay for it. They said she had given away the home. She was going to have to pay the nursing home bill out of her pocket until the $160,000 value of the home was paid back. It was $8,000 every month for 20 months. Then Medicaid would begin paying the bill. Medicaid looks back 5 years, and if you transfer anything during that window, You're not protecting it. You're just creating a bill that your family probably can't pay. Follow me.