---
title: "Massachusetts Medicaid Look-Back Period | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/massachusetts/medicaid-look-back-period/
description: "MassHealth applies a 60-month transfer review and uses a $450 daily private-pay nursing-facility cost figure for current penalties."
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.
---
Massachusetts · Look-Back & Penalties

# Massachusetts Medicaid Look-Back Period

Last updated 2026-10-20

For any transfer made on or after February 8, 2006, Massachusetts runs a look-back period that generally stretches 60 months. Under 130 CMR 520.000, that clock starts on the first day someone is simultaneously a nursing-facility resident and an applicant for, or recipient of, MassHealth Standard.

Within that review window, MassHealth can refuse to pay for an otherwise-eligible resident's nursing-facility care if that resident — or their spouse — gave away countable resources for less than they were worth, unless a recognized permissible-transfer, exception, or exemption covers the transaction. It's worth noting that this kind of denial only blocks payment for nursing-facility services; it doesn't wipe out eligibility for other MassHealth benefits.

## Massachusetts figures

- Look-back period: 60 months
- Transfer penalty divisor: $450/day for applications or reviews received on or after November 1, 2025

## Sources and official resources

- [Mass.gov: Paying for a Stay in a Nursing or Rest Home](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/paying-for-a-stay-in-a-nursing-or-rest-home)
- [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 Massachusetts guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/massachusetts/)