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In May of 2017 when my dad was well he transferred my car to my name from his name via "gifted transfer to child". This car was purchased using college savings and their savings. They NEVER drove it, NEVER paid for maintenance. Its worth less than $5K now, but Medicaid denied my dad because of this transfer. I think this is unreasonable because the car was purchased before I was an adult and it wasn't an asset they actually used or enjoyed or could sell without putting me in an awful spot of paying for a new car myself. Is it possible to argue this with Medicaid (South Dakota)? Keep in mind, we had no idea in May of 2017 that their finances would dwindle so fast. I thought we had more time before I would need to get my dad on state pay. This was to protect an asset intended for me only that my parents always intended to gift me anyways.

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Was there a loan and were you and Dad cosigners/coowners? My daughter's car was set up as coowners with her getting the credit on making the payments. It was registerd in her Dads name for insurance purposes. If Dad consigned or was co-owner, then you maybe able to appeal based on you actually bought the car using Dads credit rating.

If your Dad paid outright for the car, or made payments and registered it in his name and insurance in his name, he was the owner. Insurance looked at you as the main driver. In NJ by putting the transfer as a "gift" sales tax doesn't have to be paid.

You may want to ask how that transfer effected Dads application. You say the car is worth less than 5K. Does that mean Medicaid would allow you to pay that amount back so the application will go thru?
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AJ, your parents should talk to a Medicaid social worker or rep about what options they have. Are they able to articulate to him or her what happened? Maybe because of the "gifting" verbiage, Medicaid won't budge on it. But I wonder if you can show the value of the car, if Medicaid would reevaluate their application. Did your dad mark a value for the car on his Medicaid application?  Was the car new or used when your family purchased it?

I know Medicaid has strict rules, but at the same time, their offices have been known to make mistakes. It doesn't hurt to ask about what your family's options are.
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Also could there possibly be any other transfers that could surface?
The car - like a house - shows a transfer quickly as it’s super easy 1 button match up by name search of tax assessor records.

But banking lookback is more complicated. Was any of the college $ moved from an account in his SS# to yours? If it was in a UTMA it might be in an your name UTMA account but the reported SS # belonged to the elder.  If so, that’s going to surface as a penalty inquiry as well. 
Please, please, Please think if there’s other issues that will surface.
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It was in his name & done via a “gifting” document so Medicaid has to view it as gifting. Arguing about backstory on maintenance $$, college $, whatever imo is a total waste of time. The gifting document was done I’m guessing so there was some sort of reduction on vehicle sales taxes.

If it was a much older car, like over a decade old, you might try to have the car value reduced by auto appraisal so it’s not whatever Kelley a blue book has it at. But it’s too new for that.

Or you wait 5 full years till dad applies for Medicaid, so August 2019 for a July, 2014 ineligible transfer. Dad stays at home or moves in with you and family caregives for free or uses his SS to private pay for correctly hired caregivers. I’m assuming his care needs are beyond this being feasible.

So Transfer penalty has to be gotten through. How many days is it?
If it has a transfer penalty value of 8k-5k that’s maybe a month of NH costs. Find a way to private pay for however # of days long the penalty period is. Ask the facility if they will be ok on being paid the lower Medicaid room & board day rate rather than a usually higher private pay rate. Get it paid so days penalized are over. Then he’ll be eligible for Medicaid.

Not to sound harsh but it needs to be dealt with soon as the NH needs to be assured of payment otherwise they will issue a 30 Day Notice. He cannot stay as a Medicaid Pending resident as the facility gets the ineligible due to transfer penalty notice as well. You don’t want to get him at the Notice sent point as he’ll be toast on ever getting into another facility (it will be in his Medicaid history) and if payment isn’t worked out APS can be contacted to do a review of his status which usually means APS will ask for him to be made an emergency ward of the state with guardian appointed.
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aj6044, I can understand why you believe the ruling isn't right, but a gift is a gift. If only we all had a crystal ball to see into our parent's future, to see when illnesses should affect our parents where they need a higher level of care. I see from your profile that your parents are only in their late 50's and early 60's.

Actually I am surprised that your parents were denied Medicaid. Usually in other States Medicaid would see the value of the gifted car and deduct that amount from the cost of care, thus Medicaid wouldn't begin after a certain number of months.
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Well, you can try to argue with Medicaid but their rules are pretty strict. What was intended is not what matters, unfortunately, but what happens is the issue. Keep in mind that Medicaid is welfare, not insurance. Wish we had the kind of health systems other industrialized nations have.
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The car was purchased July of 2014.
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