---
title: "Hawaii Medicaid Look-Back Period | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/hawaii/medicaid-look-back-period/
description: "Hawaii’s 60-month transfer review, statutory exceptions, penalty framework, and documented hardship process."
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.
---
Hawaii · Look-Back & Penalties

# Hawaii Medicaid Look-Back Period

Last updated 2026-10-20

Hawaii reviews five years of financial history — 60 months — when someone applies for long-term-care Medicaid. Under the state's long-term-care asset regulation, an applicant can face a penalty period if the applicant or their spouse gave away an asset, or sold it for less than it was worth, at any point within that look-back window. For any transfer made on or after February 8, 2006, the applicable review period is set at 60 months under Hawaii Administrative Rules section 17-1725.1-51.

It's worth being precise about what a transfer penalty actually is: it isn't a fine or a tax bill. It's a stretch of time during which Medicaid won't pay for long-term-care services, even if the applicant otherwise qualifies medically and financially. Because Hawaii's rule reaches both the applicant's and the spouse's below-market transactions, the exact date of a transfer, its value, who owned it, what (if anything) was received in return, and the paper trail documenting all of that will all matter if the case is ever reviewed.

## Hawaii figures

- Look-back period: 60 months
- Applicable transfer date: On or after February 8, 2006

## Sources and official resources

- [Hawaii Med-QUEST: Apply for Medicaid](https://medquest.hawaii.gov/content/medquest/en/members-applicants/get-started/how-to-apply.html)
- [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 Hawaii guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/hawaii/)