<prompt> Human: She wants to take the penalty and have all her money at once. I tried telling her this was a bad idea and should just withdraw at a regular rate like 4. She fears that in the event of an illness where she will stay in the hospital, she will be denied Medi-Cal or similar assistance because she will need to first use up her savings. Apparently something similar happened to a family friend of hers. Could anyone direct me where I can read more info about this?Assistant: Ive heard that nursing homes will milk any savings before medicare would pay anything. they will look back several years to be sure you dont transfer assets into another persons name just to shelter it.So... if she takes all of her money and gives it to someone else... it would be safe...just taking it out of the 401k to stick it in a savings account wont do anything though. Thats how I understand it anyway.Human: Thats basically what she had said as well. Her friends husband is going through a serious illness currently which makes her all the more emotional about this. She wanted to give it to me and my brother to protect it. I figured there would be better solutions to this type of problem, as I assume something like this is quite common for most retired and old folks in America. Im fairly young so I dont have much insight or experience as to how fucked the healthcare system is .  <response>: well to be fair... why shouldnt a persons personal assets be exhausted by final expenses before the govt steps in?the lookback period is 5 years I think. The risk of course, is that you have the money, and can screw your parents over. discounting that option for yourself, know that it can be subject to lawsuits and divorce penalties.If your mother has substantial assets, its probably worth talking with an elder law attorney. 