Vermont's Choices for Care program reviews five years of financial transactions when evaluating a long-term-care Medicaid application. If property or resources — including a home — were given away within that five-year window before applying, it can trigger a period during which Medicaid won't pay for long-term-care services. In practice, DVHA's own Choices for Care training materials instruct applicants to disclose transfers made in the preceding 60 to 63 months, which is a good reason to start gathering financial records well before you plan to apply.
It's important not to read this as a blanket prohibition on gifts or transfers. The real question Vermont asks is whether a resource was transferred for less than its fair market value, and whether an exception, an alternate purpose, or a hardship circumstance applies. Vermont's consumer guidance specifically notes that a transfer made solely for a reason unrelated to becoming or remaining Medicaid-eligible can avoid a penalty — but families need to keep documentation that actually supports that explanation if the transfer is ever questioned. For 2026, published consumer guidance also uses a daily transfer-penalty rate of $417.84, which is used to calculate how many days of ineligibility a given transfer amount would trigger.