ALJ Debra Bursinger

DHA Case No. MGE 169735 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals May 3, 2016) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Applicants for Medicaid must verify their assets, but workers cannot deny eligibility if the applicant lacks the ability to produce verification. In this case, the petitioner was incompetent and her representatives—her son and lawyer—were unable to verify […] Read more

DHA Case No. MPA 207369 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals February 28, 2023) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF AMedicaid recipient cannot be held personally liable for a service requiring prior authorization unless he has notice of the prior authorization denial before provision of the service. In this case, the petitioner’s doctor ordered an MRI and went […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 207790 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals May 19, 2023) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF In the Family Care program, the MCO must develop an Individual Service Plan (ISP) that reasonably and effectively addresses long-term care needs and outcomes and is cost-effective. In this case, the petitioner had extreme and violent behaviors […] Read more

DHA Case No. HMO 209172 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals July 27, 2023) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF When a member disagrees with a Medicaid HMO’s decision, the member must first appeal to the HMO. The Division of Hearings and Appeals does not have jurisdiction until there is a final determination by the HMO’s internal […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWK 207740 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals June 9, 2023) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF One of the benefits of the Children’s Long-Term Support program is access to a Support and Service Coordinator (SSC); DHS’s Participant Rights and Responsibilities notice even says, “You have a right to meet with this person as […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 206978 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals April 7, 2023) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF In the Family Care program, the MCO must develop an Individual Service Plan (ISP) that reasonably and effectively addresses the enrollee’s long-term care needs and outcomes and is cost-effective. In this case, Community Care ended the petitioner’s […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 207243 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals May 19, 2023) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Department must ensure the health and safety of IRIS participants. The IRIS policy manual allows involuntary disenrollment for “health and safety risks that participants are unable or unwilling to resolve.” In this case, the petitioner’s mother […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 206782 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals January 11, 2023) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF To be functionally eligible for Family Care, a person must fall into one of the program’s target groups in addition to needing a nursing home level of care. In this case, the petitioner needed help with one […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 173457 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals September 15, 2016) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Medicaid Eligibility Handbook used to direct that the snapshot date for a spousal asset assessment was the “date of the first request for Community Waivers.” In this case, the petitioner was determined functionally eligible on August […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 176566 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals December 28, 2016) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Family Care eligibility generally cannot be backdated, but retroactive enrollment can be ordered by an ALJ to correct delay caused by agency error. In this case, the petitioner’s enrollment in Family Care was delayed because the ADRC took […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 196128 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals January 2, 2020) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF An individual is functionally eligible for Family Care if he or she needs a “nursing home” level of care, as determined by the functional screen. In this case, the petitioner’s functional screen found her functionally ineligible because […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 194293 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals January 6, 2020) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The amount a community spouse can keep depends on the couple’s total resources on the date of the asset assessment, which is often the date a functional screen was completed and the person was determined functionally eligible. […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 198638 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals June 29, 2020) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF A divestment penalty for a Medicaid applicant begins on the date the person applies and is “otherwise eligible” but for the divestment; it begins for a member the first of the month after the member receives timely notice. In this case, […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 199054 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals August 25, 2020) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF A divestment occurs upon the transfer of a non-exempt resource for less than fair market value. In this case, the petitioner sold the home in which she had a life estate for $3,200 less than the tax […] Read more