§ 5163.21 — Eligibility determinations for cases involving medicaid programs

Ohio § 5163.21

• Jurisdiction: Ohio
• Title 51: Public Welfare
• Ch. 5163: Medicaid Eligibility

Text

(A)(1) This section applies only to either of the following:

(a) Initial eligibility determinations for the medicaid program;

(b) An appeal from an initial eligibility determination pursuant to section5160.31of the Revised Code.

(2)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(2)(b) of this section, this section shall not be used by a court to determine the effect of a trust on an individual's initial eligibility for the medicaid program.

(b) The prohibition in division (A)(2)(a) of this section does not apply to an appeal described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section.

(B) As used in this section:

(1) "Trust" means any arrangement in which a grantor transfers real or personal property to a trust with the intention that it be held, managed, or administered by at least one trustee for the benefit of the grantor or beneficiaries. "Trust" includes any legal instrument or device similar to a trust.

(2) "Legal instrument or device similar to a trust" includes, but is not limited to, escrow accounts, investment accounts, partnerships, contracts, and other similar arrangements that are not called trusts under state law but are similar to a trust and to which all of the following apply:

(a) The property in the trust is held, managed, retained, or administered by a trustee.

(b) The trustee has an equitable, legal, or fiduciary duty to hold, manage, retain, or administer the property for the benefit of the beneficiary.

(c) The trustee holds identifiable property for the beneficiary.

(3) "Grantor" is a person who creates a trust, including all of the following:

(a) An individual;

(b) An individual's spouse;

(c) A person, including a court or administrative body, with legal authority to act in place of or on behalf of an individual or an individual's spouse;

(d) A person, including a court or administrative body, that acts at the direction or on request of an individual or the individual's spouse.

(4) "Beneficiary" is a person or persons, including a grantor, who benefits in some way from a trust.

(5) "Trustee" is a person who manages a trust's principal and income for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

(6) "Person" has the same meaning as in section1.59of the Revised Code and includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association.

(7) "Applicant" is an individual who applies for medicaid or the individual's spouse.

(8) "Recipient" is an individual who receives medicaid or the individual's spouse.

(9) "Revocable trust" is a trust that can be revoked by the grantor or the beneficiary, including all of the following, even if the terms of the trust state that it is irrevocable:

(a) A trust that provides that the trust can be terminated only by a court;

(b) A trust that terminates on the happening of an event, but only if the event occurs at the direction or control of the grantor, beneficiary, or trustee.

(10) "Irrevocable trust" is a trust that cannot be revoked by the grantor or terminated by a court and that terminates only on the occurrence of an event outside of the control or direction of the beneficiary or grantor.

(11) "Payment" is any disbursal from the principal or income of the trust, including actual cash, noncash or property disbursements, or the right to use and occupy real property.

(12) "Payments to or for the benefit of the applicant or recipient" is a payment to any person resulting in a direct or indirect benefit to the applicant or recipient.

(13) "Testamentary trust" is a trust that is established by a will and does not take effect until after the death of the person who created the trust.

(C)(1) If an applicant or recipient is a beneficiary of a trust, the applicant or recipient shall submit a complete copy of the trust instrument to the county department of job and family services and the department of medicaid. A copy shall be considered complete if it contains all pages of the trust instrument and all schedules, attachments, and accounting statements referenced in or associated with the trust. The copy is confidential and is not subject to disclosure under section149.43of the Revised Code.

(2) On receipt of a copy of a trust instrument or otherwise determining that an applicant or recipient is a beneficiary of a trust, the county department of job and family services shall determine what type of trust it is and shall treat the trust in accordance with the appropriate provisions of this section and rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code governing trusts. The county department of job and family services may determine that any of the following is the case regarding the trust or portion of the trust:

(a) It is a resource available to the applicant or recipient;

(b) It contains income available to the applicant or recipient;

(c) Divisions (C)(2)(a) and (b) of this section are both applicable;

(d) Neither division (C)(2)(a) nor (b) of this section is applicable.

(3) Except as provided in division (F) of this section, a trust or portion of a trust that is a resource available to the applicant or recipient or contains income available to the applicant or recipient shall be counted for purposes of determining medicaid eligibility.

(D)(1) A trust or legal instrument or device similar to a trust shall be considered a medicaid qualifying trust if all of the following apply:

(a) The trust was established on or prior to August 10, 1993.

(b) The trust was not established by a will.

(c) The trust was established by an applicant or recipient.

(d) The applicant or recipient is or may become the beneficiary of all or part of the trust.

(e) Payment from the trust is determined by one or more trustees who are permitted to exercise any discretion with respect to the distribution to the applicant or recipient.

(2) If a trust meets the requirement of division (D)(1) of this section, the amount of the trust that is considered by the county department of job and family services to be a resource available to the applicant or recipient shall be the maximum amount of payments permitted under the terms of the trust to be distributed to the applicant or recipient, assuming the full exercise of discretion by the trustee or trustees. The maximum amount shall include only amounts that are permitted to be distributed but are not distributed from either the income or principal of the trust.

(3) Amounts that are actually distributed from a medicaid qualifying trust to a beneficiary for any purpose shall be treated in accordance with rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code governing income.

(4) Availability of a medicaid qualifying trust shall be considered without regard to any of the following:

(a) Whether or not the trust is irrevocable or was established for purposes other than to enable a grantor to qualify for medicaid;

(b) Whether or not the trustee actually exercises discretion.

(5) If any real or personal property is transferred to a medicaid qualifying trust that is not distributable to the applicant or recipient, the transfer shall be considered an improper disposition of assets and shall be subject to section5163.30of the Revised Code and rules to implement that section adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code.

(6) The baseline date for the look-back period for disposition of assets involving a medicaid qualifying trust shall be the date on which the applicant or recipient is both institutionalized and first applies for medicaid.

(E)(1) A trust or legal instrument or device similar to a trust shall be considered a self-settled trust if all of the following apply:

(a) The trust was established on or after August 11, 1993.

(b) The trust was not established by a will.

(c) The trust was established by an applicant or recipient, spouse of an applicant or recipient, or a person, including a court or administrative body, with legal authority to act in place of or on behalf of an applicant, recipient, or spouse, or acting at the direction or on request of an applicant, recipient, or spouse.

(2) A trust that meets the requirements of division (E)(1) of this section and is a revocable trust shall be treated by the county department of job and family services as follows:

(a) The corpus of the trust shall be considered a resource available to the applicant or recipient.

(b) Payments from the trust to or for the benefit of the applicant or recipient shall be considered unearned income of the applicant or recipient.

(c) Any other payments from the trust shall be considered an improper disposition of assets and shall be subject to section5163.30of the Revised Code and rules to implement that section adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code.

(3) A trust that meets the requirements of division (E)(1) of this section and is an irrevocable trust shall be treated by the county department of job and family services as follows:

(a) If there are any circumstances under which payment from the trust could be made to or for the benefit of the applicant or recipient, including a payment that can be made only in the future, the portion from which payments could be made shall be considered a resource available to the applicant or recipient. The county department of job and family services shall not take into account when payments can be made.

(b) Any payment that is actually made to or for the benefit of the applicant or recipient from either the corpus or income shall be considered unearned income.

(c) If a payment is made to someone other than to the applicant or recipient and the payment is not for the benefit of the applicant or recipient, the payment shall be considered an improper disposition of assets and shall be subject to section5163.30of the Revised Code and rules to implement that section adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code.

(d) The date of the disposition shall be the later of the date of establishment of the trust or the date of the occurrence of the event.

(e) When determining the value of the disposed asset under this provision, the value of the trust shall be its value on the date payment to the applicant or recipient was foreclosed.

(f) Any income earned or other resources added subsequent to the foreclosure date shall be added to the total value of the trust.

(g) Any payments to or for the benefit of the applicant or recipient after the foreclosure date but prior to the application date shall be subtracted from the total value. Any other payments shall not be subtracted from the value.

(h) Any addition of assets after the foreclosure date shall be considered a separate disposition.

(4) If a trust is funded with assets of another person or persons in addition to assets of the applicant or recipient, the applicable provisions of this section and rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code governing trusts shall apply only to the portion of the trust attributable to the applicant or recipient.

(5) The availability of a self-settled trust shall be considered without regard to any of the following:

(a) The purpose for which the trust is established;

(b) Whether the trustees have exercised or may exercise discretion under the trust;

(c) Any restrictions on when or whether distributions may be made from the trust;

(d) Any restrictions on the use of distributions from the trust.

(6) The baseline date for the look-back period for dispositions of assets involving a self-settled trust shall be the date on which the applicant or recipient is both institutionalized and first applies for medicaid.

(F) The principal or income from any of the following shall not be a resource available to the applicant or recipient:

(1)(a) A special needs trust that meets all of the following requirements:

(i) The trust contains assets of an applicant or recipient under sixty-five years of age and may contain the assets of other individuals.

(ii) The applicant or recipient is disabled as defined in rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code.

(iii) The trust is established for the benefit of the applicant or recipient by any of the following: the applicant or recipient, if established on or after December 13, 2016; a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian of the applicant or recipient; or a court.

(iv) The trust requires that on the death of the applicant or recipient the state will receive all amounts remaining in the trust up to an amount equal to the total amount of medicaid payments made on behalf of the applicant or recipient.

(b) If a special needs trust meets the requirements of division (F)(1)(a) of this section and has been established for a disabled applicant or recipient under sixty-five years of age, the exemption for the trust granted pursuant to division (F) of this section shall continue after the disabled applicant or recipient becomes sixty-five years of age if the applicant or recipient continues to be disabled as defined in rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code. Except for income earned by the trust, the grantor shall not add to or otherwise augment the trust after the applicant or recipient attains sixty-five years of age. An addition or augmentation of the trust by the applicant or recipient with the applicant's own assets after the applicant or recipient attains sixty-five years of age shall be treated as an improper disposition of assets.

(c) Cash distributions to the applicant or recipient shall be counted as unearned income. All other distributions from the trust shall be treated as provided in rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code governing in-kind income.

(d) Transfers of assets to a special needs trust shall not be treated as an improper transfer of resources. An asset held prior to the transfer to the trust shall be considered as a resource available to the applicant or recipient, income available to the applicant or recipient, or both a resource and income available to the individual.

(2)(a) A qualifying income trust that meets all of the following requirements:

(i) The trust is composed only of pension, social security, and other income to the applicant or recipient, including accumulated interest in the trust.

(ii) The income is received by the individual and the right to receive the income is not assigned or transferred to the trust.

(iii) The trust requires that on the death of the applicant or recipient the state will receive all amounts remaining in the trust up to an amount equal to the total amount of medicaid payments made on behalf of the applicant or recipient.

(b) No resources shall be used to establish or augment the trust.

(c) If an applicant or recipient has irrevocably transferred or assigned the applicant's or recipient's right to receive income to the trust, the trust shall not be considered a qualifying income trust by the county department of job and family services.

(d) Income placed in a qualifying income trust shall not be counted in determining an applicant's or recipient's eligibility for medicaid. The recipient of the funds may place any income directly into a qualifying income trust without those funds adversely affecting the applicant's or recipient's eligibility for medicaid. Income generated by the trust that remains in the trust shall not be considered as income to the applicant or recipient.

(e) All income placed in a qualifying income trust shall be combined with any income available to the individual that is not placed in the trust to arrive at a base income figure to be used for spend down calculations.

(f) The base income figure shall be used for post-eligibility deductions, including personal needs allowance, monthly income allowance, family allowance, and medical expenses not subject to third party payment. Any income remaining shall be used toward payment of patient liability. Payments made from a qualifying income trust shall not be combined with the base income figure for post-eligibility calculations.

(g) The base income figure shall be used when determining the spend down budget for the applicant or recipient. Any income remaining after allowable deductions are permitted as provided under rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code shall be considered the applicant's or recipient's spend down liability.

(3)(a) A pooled trust that meets all of the following requirements:

(i) The trust contains the assets of the applicant or recipient of any age who is disabled as defined in rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code.

(ii) The trust is established and managed by a nonprofit organization.

(iii) A separate account is maintained for each beneficiary of the trust but, for purposes of investment and management of funds, the trust pools the funds in these accounts.

(iv) Accounts in the trust are established by the applicant or recipient, the applicant's or recipient's parent, grandparent, or legal guardian, or a court solely for the benefit of individuals who are disabled.

(v) The trust requires that, to the extent that any amounts remaining in the beneficiary's account on the death of the beneficiary are not retained by the trust, the trust pay to the state the amounts remaining in the trust up to an amount equal to the total amount of medicaid payments made on behalf of the beneficiary.

(b) Cash distributions to the applicant or recipient shall be counted as unearned income. All other distributions from the trust shall be treated as provided in rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code governing in-kind income.

(c) Transfers of assets to a pooled trust shall not be treated as an improper disposition of assets. An asset held prior to the transfer to the trust shall be considered as a resource available to the applicant or recipient, income available to the applicant or recipient, or both a resource and income available to the applicant or recipient.

(4) A supplemental services trust that meets the requirements of section5815.28of the Revised Code and to which all of the following apply:

(a) A person may establish a supplemental services trust pursuant to section5815.28of the Revised Code only for another person who is eligible to receive services through one of the following agencies:

(i) The department of developmental disabilities;

(ii) A county board of developmental disabilities;

(iii) The department of mental health and addiction services ;

(iv) A board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services.

(b) A county department of job and family services shall not determine eligibility for another agency's program. An applicant or recipient shall do one of the following:

(i) Provide documentation from one of the agencies listed in division (F)(4)(a) of this section that establishes that the applicant or recipient was determined to be eligible for services from the agency at the time of the creation of the trust;

(ii) Provide an order from a court of competent jurisdiction that states that the applicant or recipient was eligible for services from one of the agencies listed in division (F)(4)(a) of this section at the time of the creation of the trust.

(c) At the time the trust is created, the trust principal does not exceed the maximum amount permitted. The maximum amount permitted in calendar year 2006 is two hundred twenty-two thousand dollars. Each year thereafter, the maximum amount permitted is the prior year's amount plus two thousand dollars.

(d) A county department of job and family services shall review the trust to determine whether it complies with the provisions of section5815.28of the Revised Code.

(e) Payments from supplemental services trusts shall be exempt as long as the payments are for supplemental services as defined in rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code. All supplemental services shall be purchased by the trustee and shall not be purchased through direct cash payments to the beneficiary.

(f) If a trust is represented as a supplemental services trust and a county department of job and family services determines that the trust does not meet the requirements provided in division (F)(4) of this section and section5815.28of the Revised Code, the county department of job and family services shall not consider it an exempt trust.

(G)(1) A trust or legal instrument or device similar to a trust shall be considered a trust established by an individual for the benefit of the applicant or recipient if all of the following apply:

(a) The trust is created by a person other than the applicant or recipient.

(b) The trust names the applicant or recipient as a beneficiary.

(c) The trust is funded with assets or property in which the applicant or recipient has never held an ownership interest prior to the establishment of the trust.

(2) Any portion of a trust that meets the requirements of division (G)(1) of this section shall be a resource available to the applicant or recipient only if the trust permits the trustee to expend principal, corpus, or assets of the trust for the applicant's or recipient's medical care, care, comfort, maintenance, health, welfare, general well being, or any combination of these purposes.

(3) A trust that meets the requirements of division (G)(1) of this section shall be considered a resource available to the applicant or recipient even if the trust contains any of the following types of provisions:

(a) A provision that prohibits the trustee from making payments that would supplant or replace medicaid or other public assistance;

(b) A provision that prohibits the trustee from making payments that would impact or have an effect on the applicant's or recipient's right, ability, or opportunity to receive medicaid or other public assistance;

(c) A provision that attempts to prevent the trust or its corpus or principal from being a resource available to the applicant or recipient.

(4) A trust that meets the requirements of division (G)(1) of this section shall not be counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient if at least one of the following circumstances applies:

(a) If a trust contains a clear statement requiring the trustee to preserve a portion of the trust for another beneficiary or remainderman, that portion of the trust shall not be counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient. Terms of a trust that grant discretion to preserve a portion of the trust shall not qualify as a clear statement requiring the trustee to preserve a portion of the trust.

(b) If a trust contains a clear statement requiring the trustee to use a portion of the trust for a purpose other than medical care, care, comfort, maintenance, welfare, or general well being of the applicant or recipient, that portion of the trust shall not be counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient. Terms of a trust that grant discretion to limit the use of a portion of the trust shall not qualify as a clear statement requiring the trustee to use a portion of the trust for a particular purpose.

(c) If a trust contains a clear statement limiting the trustee to making fixed periodic payments, the trust shall not be counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient and payments shall be treated in accordance with rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code governing income. Terms of a trust that grant discretion to limit payments shall not qualify as a clear statement requiring the trustee to make fixed periodic payments.

(d) If a trust contains a clear statement that requires the trustee to terminate the trust if it is counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient, the trust shall not be counted as such. Terms of a trust that grant discretion to terminate the trust do not qualify as a clear statement requiring the trustee to terminate the trust.

(e) If a person obtains a judgment from a court of competent jurisdiction that expressly prevents the trustee from using part or all of the trust for the medical care, care, comfort, maintenance, welfare, or general well being of the applicant or recipient, the trust or that portion of the trust subject to the court order shall not be counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient.

(f) If a trust is specifically exempt from being counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient by a provision of the Revised Code, rules, or federal law, the trust shall not be counted as such.

(g) If an applicant or recipient presents a final judgment from a court demonstrating that the applicant or recipient was unsuccessful in a civil action against the trustee to compel payments from the trust, the trust shall not be counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient.

(h) If an applicant or recipient presents a final judgment from a court demonstrating that in a civil action against the trustee the applicant or recipient was only able to compel limited or periodic payments, the trust shall not be counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient and payments shall be treated in accordance with rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code governing income.

(i) If an applicant or recipient provides written documentation showing that the cost of a civil action brought to compel payments from the trust would be cost prohibitive, the trust shall not be counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient.

(5) Any actual payments to the applicant or recipient from a trust that meet the requirements of division (G)(1) of this section, including trusts that are not counted as a resource available to the applicant or recipient, shall be treated as provided in rules adopted under section5163.02of the Revised Code governing income. Payments to any person other than the applicant or recipient shall not be considered income to the applicant or recipient. Payments from the trust to a person other than the applicant or recipient shall not be considered an improper disposition of assets.

Last updated October 17, 2025 at 4:34 PM

Legislative History

Effective: March 22, 2019 | Latest Legislation: House Bill 595 - 132nd General Assembly