Will MassHealth take my home?

MassHealth will look at all your assets in determining your eligibility. Everyone who has a home is always told that MassHealth is going to take their home. This is false.

If you are married and your spouse is still living in the home, then the home is NON-COUNTABLE. The state does not want to impoverish your spouse so they allow that spouse to keep their home.

If you are single or both spouses are in a nursing home your home is a countable-asset. You can transfer your home to a legally disabled child or a child care-taker. A child care-taker is a legal child of the applicant who has lived with and provided care to the applicant keeping them out of a nursing home for at least 2 years before the applicant entered the nursing home.

If you cannot transfer the property to one of the above people, then you can rent your property. Your income offsets MassHealth's costs on your behalf. They would much rather you turn your property into an ongoing income such as rent then have you sell the home. If you rent your property MassHealth will look at the NET rental income (income after household expenses.)

If you cannot transfer the property and do not want to or can't rent it, MassHealth will have you sign an intent to sell (you will have 6 months to sell the property or prove why you are having difficulty selling.) They will place a lien on the property while it is on the market. Once the house is sold you will have preservation options, but MassHealth will get paid whatever they pay out on behalf of your loved one due to the lien.

If you only have a life estate on a property (and have had that life estate for the last 5 years) it is NON-COUNTABLE. A life estate just gives you permission to live in the home for your life with no ownership. If a property is sold with a life estate than the life estate holder is suppose to get a certain amount of money based off various charts. A lien will be placed on the property for up to this value, however, you cannot calculate this value until the sale of a property. If the house does not sell during the life estate holder's life than the life estate will pass along with the person. Once their is no longer a life estate, then the lien is removed as it just covers the life estate portion.

The above outlines 90% of circumstances surrounding properties. If you have a circumstance not covered above, please call us to get more specific details.