Why does Medicaid need deposits documented during the 5 year period when they determine eligibility by your current income and assets?

Historical is all about detecting assets transferred to others, as that means $ that applicant could spend for their own needs has instead gone to others - so if that happened there’s a transfer penalty done.

Current income & assets are about
- determining copay elder must pay to NH from mo income (like SS)
- flagging if there are exempt assets (home, car) that they are keeping as those will become nonexempt assets of their estate after death & this info goes to however your state does MERP/ estate recovery
- if current income is within limits & if home / car is under property value limit. If over, their ineligible. This lil missive actually is a problem as house value max 500-550k most states & lots of elders have homes that are above this which they don’t think about as they bought in 1970s for 85k & their taxes are frozen so value doesn’t come up.

If you are about to or amidst doing the LTC Medicaid application for an elder, please realize that financial info - like years of bank statements- are just a part of what gets reviewed.
You submit items, BUT State has elders name, SS#, address.
So caseworker can in just a few keystrokes do a match up with city, county, state databases. & for their spouse as well (dead or alive). Anything that has a tax placed - home, land, autos - will be in database. So if MeeMaw sold her home or gave old car to grandkid - even if 4.5 years ago - that info will be in database.

If your state does an IRS matchup, or you have state income tax, then that info too will be there. So things that reported to irs but are not an obvious asset will pop up. Like interest, royalty or dividend paid. Even if they did not file taxes the year $ was paid.
Really include everything in the initial paperwork.

Also keep in mind that states do recertifications/ renewals. It is not once & done for LTC Medicaid eligibility. The renewal will ask for some of the same info required initially as well as 3-4 months of current banking based on date of letter from the state - like preneed funeral stuff, like insurance policy details. And for more fun in this, the timeframe to submit - if it’s like our was - is pretty tight. Like 14-21 days from date of letter. So whatever your gathering up for the application now keep handy & get a binder going to put new stuff in every month. I had no idea renewals happened & had all packed with various other mom photos & trinkets & in storage, that was nothing but beyond f...u...n weekend

They want to be able to determine if there is missing assets or income.

It is a balancing feature that helps detect cheaters. That is why they want information on deposits.

The thing is, if you don't agree and comply, they just deny assistance. It is just easier to follow their rules, even when it doesn't make sense to you. They hold all the power.

They require both deposits and withdrawals to make certain the person did not gift their money to others in order to avoid their money being available for their own care. In California the look back is two years.

Medicare is checking for the spending over these last years, esp. gift of money to anyone that has decreased your own assets. If you have, say, given away tons of money for your granddaughter's siding problems, your grandson's college education, and etc. that will not do.
They will not question spending that you have done on your own home, on repairs, on vacations, on your own food, and housing and care, and etc. Only on what you have given away. So, for instance, say you KNEW you were getting older, and you decided to give away 14,000 to your daughter and your son-in-law and your three grandchildren on a yearly basis, so that when you needed care the State could step in and take over. (Bad as THAT decision would have been). That wouldn't fly.
In California the lookback is only two years. However, who can afford to live here?

Bank statements will show deposits and withdrawals. Medicaid looks for inconsistency. Usually its the withdrawals they look at. Any large amounts they will want to know why. They want to make sure no "gifts" were made. That money that was spent was for the the applicant. Ot sure why deposits would be of any importance.