Medicaid Look-Back & Long-Term Care Guides
When a parent needs nursing home care, Medicaid is how most families end up paying for it. Before it pays, the state reviews five years of the parent’s finances, and the paperwork lands on whoever manages their money.
These guides explain the rules in plain English, using the federal law and each state’s own guidance: what the look-back checks, what counts as a gift, how a penalty is worked out, and how to get the records ready before you apply.
Educational guides for families, checked against federal and state sources. Not legal advice.
Medicaid Look-Back Period: How the 5-Year Rule Works
What the state reviews, what counts as a transfer, what is exempt, how the penalty is calculated, and the states that differ.
Read the guideMore Medicaid guides
How Far Back Does Medicaid Look? Bank Statements, Income and Assets
Which records the caseworker reads, what they stop on, and how to get statements from years ago.
Read guideMedicaid Look-Back Period by State (2026)
Sixty months almost everywhere, 30 in California, New York’s pending home care rule, and each state’s penalty divisor.
Read guideMedicaid Look-Back Exemptions: Transfers That Don’t Count
Spouses, disabled children, the caregiver child home rule, normal spending, and the hardship waiver, with the proof each one needs.
Read guideIs There a 7-Year Look-Back for Medicaid?
No. Where the seven years comes from, and what the 60-month rule means for a gift your parent made.
Read guideCan Medicaid Take Your House?
What happens to a parent’s home while they live there, in a nursing home, and after they die, and who is protected.
Read guideMedicaid Estate Recovery: How It Works and How to Avoid It
Who the state can recover from, what counts as the estate, what’s exempt, and how hardship waivers work.
Read guideHow to Transfer Medicaid to Another State
Why Medicaid doesn’t move with you, the steps in the right order, and what changes for a parent in long-term care.
Read guide
An ElderlyDaily original
Getting a parent’s records ready for the look-back?
LookBack Ready: Medicaid Look-Back & POA Money Organizer
One-off purchase · Instant download · Desktop app · Windows & Mac · works offline
Choosing and paying for care
Related guides from elsewhere on ElderlyDaily.
- Skilled Nursing Facilities: What Medicare Actually CoversWhere Medicare stops and Medicaid or private pay takes over.
- Assisted Living: Costs and CoverageWhat it includes, what it costs, and where a Medicaid waiver can help.
- Memory Care: What It Is and What It CostsHow memory care differs, and how families pay for it.
- In-Home Care: What It Covers and CostsHelp at home, and what Medicare and Medicaid will and won’t pay.
- Senior Care Cost CalculatorA state-by-state estimate of what each kind of care costs.
Not legal advice: these guides explain how Medicaid’s rules work so you know what to expect and what to gather. Rules differ by state and change over time. For a decision about a specific transfer, ask your state Medicaid office or an elder law attorney.
