Cook v. Robertson

Branch, Judge.

These cases require us to determine whether Georgia has properly implemented a certain asset transfer penalty dictated by the federal Medicaid statute in connection with coverage for long-term care. The difficulty is that there appear to be conflicting provisions of *797the statute pertaining to the penalty, specifically, the circumstances under which the penalty applies to annuities purchased by the Medicaid applicant or his or her spouse. One provision imposes a penalty on couples who, in a five-year, look-back period, purchase an annuity without naming the State as a remainder…