Wisconsin's Medicaid Eligibility Handbook sets the look-back at 60 months — five years — counting back from the application month. Any transfer of nonexempt income or assets inside that window has to be evaluated for a possible penalty; transfers that happened before the 60-month window opened aren't subject to divestment rules at all.
The "application month" itself isn't a fixed calendar date — it shifts depending on the program. For Institutional Medicaid, it's the first month someone is institutionalized and has applied for health care. For Community Waivers, it's the first month the person is functionally eligible, has requested Family Care, Family Care Partnership, PACE, or IRIS, and is otherwise eligible. Wisconsin's 2026 penalty math runs on a $352.06 average daily private-pay nursing-home rate, which converts an improper transfer into a specific number of ineligible days rather than a flat dollar penalty.