Limiting asset transferring, the practice of “spending down” assets to qualify for Medicaid in nursing homes, was the topic of discussion among members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health this week.
They talked about the following proposals: extending the period in which states review whether Medicaid applicants have transferred assets to five years from three years; increasing the amount of time the federal government can withhold Medicaid eligibility when asset transfers occur; and encouraging seniors to purchase long-term care insurance or use reverse mortgages.
Curbing asset transfers could save Medicaid $2.6 billion over five years, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, director of the Congressional Budget Office, at the hearing. Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY) said in a letter that asset transferring causes states and the federal government to absorb costs of beneficiaries for whom Medicaid was not intended to cover.
But Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) countered: “Do we really think that today’s nursing homes are filled with scheming seniors who are free-riding on the taxpayer’s dime? There will always be people who work the system, but most Medicaid beneficiaries do not want to be Medicaid beneficiaries. They have no choice.”
