Qualified income trusts (QITs) are employed when a Medicaid applicant for a long-term case possesses income that exceeds the qualifying amount.
The transfer of assets to a special needs trust is not a gift for Medicaid purposes. Qualifying for Medicaid includes a five-year lookback period within such a qualification in which monies or properties given away or gifted during the five years before seeking qualification may impede such qualification. For social security income related to Medicaid, the look-back period is three years. However, transfer to a special needs trust is not considered a gift for such purposes.
A QIT is designed to protect Medicaid eligibility. QIT does not protect the seizure of the beneficiary’s income from the nursing home. Upon the Medicaid applicant’s death, any assets remaining in the QIT will be paid to the State of Florida. For Medicaid purposes, a QIT is a “payback trust.”
A QIT is used for persons applying for long term care and do not aid those applicants for supplemental social security income.