Disposition of a resource may affect an individual's eligibility. Disposition includes, but is not limited to, the following:
55 Pa. Code § 178.101 55 Pa. Code § 178.171
Spending liquid resources or selling non-liquid resources to pay medical expenses.
Selling real or personal property.
Exchanging one piece of property for other property.
Lowering the value of a resource by putting an encumbrance on it.
Lowering the value of a resource by adding another individual's name to the title, deed, or account.
Setting up a burial reserve.
When an individual disposes of a resource, whether it is excluded or countable, the CAO will count the cash or new item as a resource and add it to other countable resources to decide on the person’s eligibility. 55 Pa. Code § 178.1(i)
Example: Mr. L. sold his car for $4,200 and is now looking for a newer car. Until he buys another car or spends the money in some other way, the $4,200 is counted with other countable resources.
The individual will report when he or she gets rid of excluded or countable property, including the property of a legally responsible relative.
If an individual who is applying for or getting payment for Long Term Care sells a resource, the CAO will find out whether the individual got fair consideration for the resource. 55 Pa. Code § 178.1(i)
NOTE: To tell whether fair consideration was received, see the Long Term Care Handbook for rules about the look back period for the transfer of assets.
Updated February 14, 2012, Replacing February 8, 2002