Fourth Department — Medicaid: Donvito v. Shah, et al.

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Appellate Division, Fourth Department

Medicaid

Look-Back Period — Motivation for Medicaid Coverage

Donvito v. Shah, et al.
TP 12-02248
Transferred from Supreme Court, Onondaga County

Background: The petitioner, an administrator of an estate, commenced an Article 78 proceeding challenging the determination that a seventh-month delay on the decedent’s eligibility for Medicaid coverage was properly imposed as a penalty for transferring resources in order to qualify for Medicaid coverage.

Ruling: The Appellate Division confirmed. The court noted that the look-back period is a 60-month period immediately preceding the date that an applicant is both institutionalized and has applied for medical assistance. The petitioner received a number of transfers shortly after the decedent suffered a stroke and two years prior to moving into a nursing home. The petitioner failed to establish that the decedent was not motivated by a desire to qualify for Medicaid.

Anthony F. Copani of Mannion & Copani for the petitioner; Victor Paladino of the New York State Office of the Attorney General