Colorado § 15-14-412.5 - Limited court-approved arrangements authorized for persons seeking medical assistance for nursing home care - applicable to trusts established before a certain date.

§ 15-14-412.5. Limited court-approved arrangements authorized for persons seeking medical assistance for nursing home care - applicable to trusts established before a certain date.

(1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that:

(a) The state makes significant expenditures for nursing home care under the "Colorado Medical Assistance Act";

(b) A large number of persons do not have enough income to afford nursing home care, but have too much income to qualify for state medical assistance, a situation popularly referred to as the "Utah gap";

(c) Some persons in the Utah gap, through innovative court-approved trust arrangements, have become qualified for state medical assistance, thereby increasing state medical assistance expenditures;

(d) It is therefore appropriate to enact state laws that limit such court-approved trusts in a manner that is consistent with Title XIX of the federal "Social Security Act", 42 U.S.C. sec. 1396 et seq., as amended, and that provide that persons who qualify for assistance as a result of the creation of such trusts shall be treated the same as any other recipient of medical assistance for nursing home care;

(e) In enacting this section, the general assembly intends only to limit certain court-approved trusts and court-approved transfers of property. It is not the general assembly's intent to approve or disapprove of privately created trusts or private transfers of property made under the same or similar circumstances.

(2) The court shall not authorize, direct, or ratify any trust that either has the effect of qualifying or purports to qualify the trust beneficiary for medical assistance for nursing home care pursuant to the provisions of title 25.5, C.R.S., unless the circumstances surrounding the creation of the trust and the trust provisions meet the criteria set forth in section 25.5-6-102 (3), C.R.S. This section shall apply to any court-approved trust that is funded with property owned by the beneficiary at the time the trust is created but shall not apply to any trust that is established and directly funded by a defendant or insurance company in settlement of an action or claim for personal injury brought by or on behalf of the trust beneficiary.

(3) Except as otherwise permitted by Title XIX of the federal "Social Security Act", 42 U.S.C. sec. 1396p, as amended, the court shall not authorize, direct, or ratify the transfer of any property owned by a protected person if the transfer either has the effect of qualifying or purports to qualify the protected person for medical assistance for nursing home care pursuant to the provisions of title 25.5, C.R.S., unless the property is transferred into a trust established in accordance with subsection (2) of this section.

(4) This section shall take effect January 1, 1992, and shall apply to any court-approved trust established for or court-approved transfer of property made by or for a protected person applying for or receiving medical assistance for nursing home care pursuant to the provisions of title 25.5, C.R.S., on or after said date; except that such a trust created before said date that does not comply with this section shall be modified to comply with this section no later than July 1, 1992, before which time a court-approved trust or a court-approved transfer of property to a court-approved trust shall not render the protected person ineligible for medical assistance.

(5) The provisions of this section shall not apply if federal funds are not available for persons who would qualify for medical assistance as a result of a court-approved trust that meets the criteria set forth in section 25.5-6-102, C.R.S.

(6) This section applies to trusts established or transfers of property made prior to July 1, 1994. The provisions set forth in sections 15-14-412.6 to 15-14-412.9 and any rule adopted by the medical services board pursuant to section 25.5-6-103, C.R.S., apply to trusts established or property transferred on or after July 1, 1994.

Source: L. 2000: Entire part R&RE, p. 1810, § 1, effective January 1, 2001 (see § 15-17-103). L. 2006: (2), (5), and (6) amended, p. 2002, § 50, effective July 1. L. 2007: (2), (3), and (4) amended, p. 2027, § 30, effective June 1.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 15-14-409.5 as it existed prior to 2001.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Before the Miller Trust: Long-Term Care and HCBS Considerations", see 24 Colo. Law. 2721 (1995).