SECOND UPDATE: In April 2021, the implementation of the divestment rules to PACE was tabled indefinitely.
UPDATE: Due to COVID, implementation of divestment rules to PACE has been moved back to April 2021.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has announced that beginning July 1, 2020, Medicaid divestment rules will apply to PACE programs.
PACE is the Program for All Inclusive Care for the Elderly. PACE programs are available in much, but not all, of the State.
Divestment is the term DHHS uses to refer to the process by which applicants are penalized for transferring assets during the five years prior to applying for Medicaid benefits (aka the “lookback period”).
In January 2015, shortly after Michigan’s use of PACE programs was expanded, DHHS announced that divestment rules would not apply to PACE programs, making PACE the outlier among Medicaid long term care benefits. [To read that post click here.] As of July 1, that distinction will no longer exist.