Quick answer: Illinois Medicaid reviews transfers made in the 60 months before an application for nursing home, supportive living or Department on Aging waiver services. Penalties are based on the private-pay cost of the specific nursing facility, with no stated cap.
Illinois looks back a full 60 months before an application. IDHS policy verifies transfers of resources or income made in that window before a nursing-home or supportive-living-facility medical assistance application, and it applies the same 60-month check before someone receives or applies for a Department on Aging home- and community-based services waiver.
This wasn't always the standard: HFS notes that the 60-month look-back replaced a shorter 36-month review, effective January 1, 2012, and that the new 60-month rule applies retroactively to transfers made on or after January 1, 2007.
One more Illinois-specific wrinkle: rather than using one fixed statewide divisor to calculate a transfer penalty, the state calculates it from the private-pay cost of the particular nursing facility involved, with no stated cap on how long the penalty period can run.
Illinois figures
- Look-back period
- 60 months
- Prior look-back period (before change)
- 36 months
- 60-month rule effective date
- January 1, 2012
- Retroactive transfer coverage begins
- January 1, 2007
Sources and official resources
- Illinois HFS: Long Term Care
- U.S. Code: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p (liens, estate recovery, transfers of assets, Partnership disregard)
Rules and figures change. Confirm current details with the agency before you act.