DHA Case No. CWK 210810 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 9, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The CLTS program can pay for home modifications that “maximize a participant’s independent functioning in their home,” but not those that are merely “of general utility and not of direct medical or remedial benefit to them and in […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWK 210812 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 9, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The CLTS program can pay for home modifications that “maximize a participant’s independent functioning in their home,” but not those that are merely “of general utility and not of direct medical or remedial benefit to them and in […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 210734 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 5, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF IRIS can pay for an already-trained service dog, but not an untrained dog or an emotional support dog. In this case, the petitioner requested funding to buy an untrained dog and then train it as a service animal. […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 210721 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 3, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The IRIS program can cover home modifications, but they must address the participant’s independence, health, safety, or long-term care needs and be cost effective. In this case, the petitioner made a one-time expense request to pay for a […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 214809 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Oct. 31, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Because CLTS is the payor of last resort, all other benefits available to a participant must be accessed before the waiver funding may be used. In this case, the petitioner’s insurance covered speech therapy, but not the specific […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 213537 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Oct. 18, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The IRIS Policy Manual requires a notice of action and provides a right to appeal when services are reduced, terminated, or denied. In this case, the petitioner’s care worker failed to timely submit the required documentation to become […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 213572 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Sep. 24, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF A service that is “duplicative with respect to other services being provided” is not medically necessary. In this case, the petitioner attended after-hours recreational activities in the community while living with her mother for many years. But when […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 213089 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jul. 2, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The agency may deny an application for IRIS during the referral stage if the applicant committed substantiated fraud during a previous enrollment. In this case, the petitioner was previously enrolled in IRIS and the agency had issued a […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 40/44764 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals 2001) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF It is generally a divestment to sell real estate for less than its fair market value. In this case, the petitioner sold her duplex on the market for $72,500, less than its tax-assessed value of $95,900. ALJ Joseph Nowick concluded […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 70/74428 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Apr. 18, 2006) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF One exception to the usual divestment rule is if the transfer was not made for the purpose of becoming eligible for Medicaid. In this case, the petitioner’s POA transferred three pieces of real estate to family members before […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 13/84361 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals May 21, 2007) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The purchase of a life estate in another person’s home is a divestment if the payment exceeds the value of the life estate. In this case, the petitioner was an elderly woman who moved into her daughter’s home. […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 208558 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 26, 2024) (DHS) (proposed decision on cost motion) ↓ Download PDF Under the Wisconsin Equal Access to Justice Act (WEAJA), petitioners who prevail in a fair hearing are entitled to an award of costs unless the agency’s action was “substantially justified.” In this case, […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 208558 RHG (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Sep. 5, 2023) (DHS) (decision on rehearing) ↓ Download PDF Participants in IRIS may submit a budget amendment (BA) request to increase their budget to pay for an ongoing need not met within the current budget. In this case, the petitioner submitted a BA […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 208558 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jul. 26, 2023) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Participants in the IRIS program have certain rights to appeal that do not extend to providers. In this case, the petitioner appealed the denial of his budget amendment request to increase the rate paid to his supportive home […] Read more