Short Form The 5-Year Lookback Rule That Kills Last-Minute Medicaid Planning

LEGACY INVESTMENT SERVICES

YouTube Short Script  |  June 2025  |  Week 3 - Short 6

TITLE: The 5-Year Lookback Rule That Kills Last-Minute Medicaid Planning

ADVISOR: Jordan Cassiani

RUNTIME: 55-65 seconds

FORMAT: Vertical 9:16, tight on-camera, no cuts

CTA: Link in bio for complimentary retirement income analysis

Securities and advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Legacy Investment Services and Osaic Wealth are separate entities. Content is for educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. All scenarios are hypothetical illustrations.

SCRIPT

If you or a family member needs nursing home care and you have not done any Medicaid planning, the instinct is to immediately start transferring assets to children or into a trust to get below the Medicaid limit. Here is why that instinct, if acted on too late, makes the situation worse.

Medicaid has a five-year lookback period. When you apply for Medicaid coverage, the government reviews every financial transaction you made in the prior five years. Any gifts, transfers, or asset movements that reduced your net worth are identified. For each improper transfer, Medicaid imposes a penalty period during which you are ineligible for coverage.

The penalty is calculated by dividing the amount transferred by the average monthly cost of nursing care in your state. Transfer $120,000 in the last five years and the average monthly cost is $10,000 in your state. That is a 12-month penalty period. Twelve months during which you are responsible for the full cost of care you cannot afford.

This is why last-minute planning does not work. The time to do this planning is five or more years before you think you might need care. If you are in your 60s and healthy, that window is open right now.

Link in my bio to talk through your options.

PRODUCTION NOTES

This is urgent and specific. The penalty calculation should be delivered clearly because the math makes the point better than any editorial comment.

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