3 Financial Eligibility

DHA Case No. MDV 201093 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals March 8, 2021) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Using an inheritance to buy personal property for fair market value is not a divestment, but the purchases must be verified. In this case, the petitioner inherited $9,633 and claimed to have spent it on a desk, […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 201844 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals July 12, 2021) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF In determining patient liability, the Medicaid Eligibility Handbook allows a limited number of deductions from income. In this case, the petitioner could not afford to pay both his patient liability and his bankruptcy settlement. ALJ Kelly Cochrane could find […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 202884 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals November 2, 2021) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF In a spousal impoverishment case, the most valuable vehicle is exempted and all others are counted. In this case, the petitioner’s attorney argued (among other things) that he could elect to exempt the least valuable vehicle for the asset […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 203510 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals March 9, 2022) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Income is not available if the individual lacks the legal ability to make it available for support and maintenance. In this case, the petitioner was on hospice and totally incapacitated, had no POA or guardian, her marital […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 204093 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals March 24, 2022) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF A divestment penalty does not start until the date a Community Waivers applicant requests a waiver program, meets the functional screen criteria, and meets all other Medicaid eligibility requirements. In this case, the petitioner—represented by a lawyer—divested […] Read more

DHA Case No. BCS 204450 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals March 29, 2022) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF In general, all taxable gross income is counted when determining eligibility for BadgerCare Plus, including Social Security income. In this case, the petitioner deposited his Social Security into an ABLE account. ALJ Beth Whitaker found that the […] Read more

DHA Case No. MRA 205971 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals October 17, 2022) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF An ALJ may increase the Community Spouse Income Allowance (CSIA) if either spouse proves exceptional circumstances resulting in financial duress. In this case, although the community spouse had $3,858.22 of her own income, she also had monthly […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 201120 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals April 29, 2021) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF When a Medicaid applicant is the grantor of a trust—even an irrevocable trust—it is countable and available “if there are any circumstances under which payment from the trust could be made to or for the benefit of […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 181279 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals January 22, 2018) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Medicaid Eligibility Handbook allows business property to be exempted—regardless of value or rate of return—if the individual is “actively involved in the business operation on a day-to-day basis.” In this case, the petitioner had a history of renting […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 198872 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals August 12, 2020) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Medicaid Eligibility Handbook allows business property to be exempted—regardless of value or rate of return—if the individual is “actively involved in the business operation on a day-to-day basis.” Rental property is not exempt unless the owner is in […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 208281 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals May 30, 2023) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Medicaid Eligibility Handbook contains two main ways to exempt “property essential to self-support.” The property is (1) exempt (regardless of value or rate of return) if used in a business in which the individual is actively […] Read more

DHA Case No. MRA 178406 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals January 13, 2017) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Medicaid Eligibility Handbook contains two competing rules: revocable annuities are countable and available assets, but IRAs belonging to a community spouse are disregarded. In this case, the community spouse owned an Individual Retirement Annuity, funded by […] Read more

DHA Case No. MED-40/46891 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals March 29, 2001) (DHS)  ↓ Download PDF In a spousal impoverishment case, the Wisconsin administrative code provides that funds “expressly set aside” for burial expenses are not countable. In this case, the petitioner’s attorney told the county agency, in writing, that $3,000 in a certain […] Read more

DHA Case No. MPC-13/78330 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals November 1, 2006) (DHS)  ↓ Download PDF In Community Waivers cases, countable income is first used in eligibility determinations to place an applicant into a group; then the post-eligibility cost share is calculated based on the formula for that group. In this case, the petitioner’s […] Read more