Glossary

Institutionalized spouse (IS)
The spouse who will be residing in the medical institution.

Community spouse (CS)
The spouse of an institutionalized individual residing in the community or assisted living facility.

Snapshot date
A snapshot of the couple's assets is taken as of the first day of the first month of continuous institutionalization for a period of more than 30 days or the date of the Medicaid application, whichever occurs first.

Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA)
Medicaid Regulations provide that the Community Spouse is entitled to retain a portion of the couple's assets. This is determined by dividing the pooled assets of the husband and wife as they existed on the snapshot date, including joint assets, together and dividing by two. However, there is a floor of $20,880 and a ceiling of $104,400.

Countable Resources
All assets owned by the institutionalized individual (and the Community Spouse). These countable resources include but are not limited to bank and brokerage accounts; CD's; certain real property; cash value of life insurance policies with a face value in excess of $1,500; IRA's; stocks; bonds, etc.

Non-Countable Resources
Certain assets are non-countable. For example, the principal residence is non-countable so long as it is occupied by the Community Spouse or certain other persons. Other non-countable assets include one automobile; household and personal effects; wedding ring and engagement ring; medical equipment needed by an institutionalized person or a member of his/her household, irrevocable pre-paid funerals, and inaccessible assets.

Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA)
The Community Spouse is entitled to a monthly income of $1,711.25. To the extent that the spouse's monthly income is less than this amount, a supplement can be obtained from the Institutionalized Spouse's income.

Lookback
Federal law provides for a 36-month lookback on transfers to individuals and a 60-month lookback for transfers to trusts for all transfers made prior to February 8, 2006. For all transfers made after February 8, 2006, Federal Law provides for a 60-month lookback. This means that when application is made for Medicaid, there will be a question which asks if there have been any transfers made within the previous 60 months. Any such transfers must be disclosed to Medicaid. Failure to do so constitutes Medicaid Fraud which is a criminal offense.

Transfer Penalty
A transfer of assets does result in a penalty for Medicaid eligibility. The penalty is a period that is calculated by taking the average nursing home cost for a particular region (determined by the Department of Social Services) and dividing that number into the amount transferred.