---
title: "District of Columbia Medicaid Look-Back Period | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/district-of-columbia/medicaid-look-back-period/
description: "The District's 60-month transfer review, restricted-coverage rules, and the need to verify the current penalty divisor."
last_updated: 2026-10-20
author: George A. Mellendorf, CLTC, LTCP (Central States Insurance Services, Inc.)
publisher: Funding LTC Marketplace
note: Educational content; not legal, tax or financial advice. Markdown copy of the HTML page at the URL above.
---
District of Columbia · Look-Back & Penalties

# District of Columbia Medicaid Look-Back Period

Last updated 2026-10-20

The District reviews five years of financial history when it evaluates Medicaid long-term-care transfers. Under the District's Medicaid state-plan materials, any transfer made on or after February 8, 2006 falls under a 60-month look-back window; transfers made before that date were subject to a shorter 36-month review. The District's policy manual reinforces the current rule, stating that as of February 8, 2011, the look-back period is uniformly 60 months going forward. Both of these are the authorities behind the standard five-year planning horizon you'll hear referenced — though because the underlying state-plan PDF and manual are not newly issued documents, it's worth double-checking current application instructions for any amendments.

It helps to be precise about what a look-back period actually does. It isn't a tax, and it doesn't penalize you simply for having made a transfer years ago. What it can do is create a window during which Medicaid won't pay for long-term-care services if you transferred assets for less than they were worth. DHCF's undue-hardship guidance is clear that even someone facing a transfer-of-assets penalty — whether from an impermissible transfer or a permissible one that still triggers a penalty — can remain eligible for other Medicaid services, provided they otherwise qualify.

## District of Columbia figures

- Look-back period (transfers on/after Feb 8, 2006): 60 months
- Look-back period (transfers before Feb 8, 2006): 36 months
- Uniform 60-month rule effective date: February 8, 2011

## Sources and official resources

- [D.C. DHCF: Long-Term Care (LTC)](https://dhcf.dc.gov/service/long-term-care-ltc)
- [U.S. Code: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p (liens, estate recovery, transfers of assets, Partnership disregard)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396p)

Rules and figures change. Confirm current details with the agency before you act.

[← Back to the full District of Columbia guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/district-of-columbia/)