On November 17, 2023, Georgia issued Manual Transmittal 71, updating its Medicaid Manual, making technical changes to the following sections. The following sections were updated: 2054 – Emergency Medical Assistance 2060 – ABD Medicaid Application Processing 2101 – ABD Medicaid Classes of Assistance Overview 2111 – SSI Medicaid 2135 – Hospice Medicaid 2143 – QMB […]
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We’re just getting to the point where we’re producing videos for EZ Elder Law. There are, after all, only so many hours in the day. This video published on September 17, 2023, runs through basic Medicaid eligibility in Georgia under the 2023 rules. It focuses on nursing home Medicaid and home health Medicaid. Slides for […]
Each year, most Medicaid eligibility limits are adjusted for inflation. The 2023 Georgia Medicaid income and resource limits are: SSI Medicaid: Income: $914 per month, Countable Resources: $2,000 QMB Medicaid: Income: $1,235 (100% FPL + $20), Countable Resources: $9,090 SLMB Medicaid: Income: $1,478 (120% FPL +$20), Countable Resources: $9,090 CCSP/EDWP/Nursing Home Income Cap: $2,742; Applicant […]
States may extend Medicaid to certain individuals with incomes too high to qualify for SSI, and who are eligible for nursing facility or other institutional care. Under the special income rule, also referred to as “the 300 percent rule,” such persons must (1) require care provided by a nursing home or other medical institution for […]
The Georgia Department of Community Health recently announced the 2022 Presumptive Eligibility Medical Assistance Federal Poverty Levels. These new income limits should be used for all PE determinations completed by Qualified Hospitals effective March 1, 2022. Both memos are below:
As of December 21, 2021, Georgia has changed its Estate Recovery Program rules under Title 49 O.C.G.A. § 49-4-147.1. This change is effective July as of July 1, 2018.
As of December 15, 2021, Georgia Medicaid renewals have been extended again due to Covid-19.
The form below was developed by the Georgia Department of Community Health and is based on Section 2342-11 of the Georgia ABD Medicaid Manual:
In Richards v. Georgia Department of Community Health, 278 Ga. 757 (2004), a class of plaintiffs sued DCH contending that O.C.G.A. § 49-4-149 was illegal as applied. The Department’s position was that its claim for reimbursement applied to all funds received by a plaintiff through litigation against responsible third-parties. The plaintiffs argued that DCH’s claim […]
Deeming Terminates After Eligibility Is Established. Four years later, the Duprees were back in Court. At the annual review on February 29, 2012, DFCS denied eligibility due to a failure to submit documentation. The documents were then submitted and eligibility was denied with DFCS alleging petitioner was over resourced. Petitioner had not acquired any new […]
Which Home is the Homeplace? Pernie Dupree entered a nursing home on September 11, 2009. Prior to her admission, she had lived with her husband at 1 Bragg Circle since 1949. The Bragg Circle property was valued at $45,411. After hs wife entered the nursing home, due to his declining health Mr. Dupree moved into his […]
Direct Transfer to Disabled Child; Previously Unknown Resource. Applications for Medicaid were filed on November 24, 2008 and January 8, 2009. The first application was denied for failure to provide documentation. The second was approved on April 16, 2009 with assessment of a penalty through 2009. The transfer was directly to a disabled child rather […]
Annuity; Transfer Penalty for Failing to Name State as Beneficiary. Petitioner, a 95 year old nursing home resident, applied for Medicaid on December 15, 2008. DFCS denied eligibility and imposed a transfer of resources penalty because she had purchased an annuity without naming the State of Georgia as a beneficiary. The annuity was irrevocable and […]
No Retroactive Application of Policy Changes Permitted; Payments for Renovations to Accommodate Petitioner Permitted; Payments Consistent with Prior Accepted Obligation Permitted. Petitioner was hospitalized with a stroke in 2008, after which she went to live with one of her sons until she was re-hospitalized in November 2008. Thereafter, she remained in a nursing home. Petitioner […]
VA Improved Pension Not Income. Petitioner applied for Medicaid on November 4, 2008. Petitioner was the surviving spouse of a veteran eligible for VA Improved Pension. At the time, the income cap was $2,022 and, if the Improved Pension was included in Petitioner’s income, then her gross monthly income exceeded the income cap. Of Petitioner’s $1,056 […]
Direct Transfer to disabled child allowed from date ALS was diagnosed. Petitioner made transfers directly to a disabled child with ALS. However some transfers were made prior to the determination of disability and others were made after the disability determination. DFCS attempted to penalize all transfers since they were directly to the disabled child rather […]
Increase CSRA in Superior Court, followed by Application and Fair Hearing. After admission to a nursing home, but prior to application for Medicaid, the Superior Court in Glascock County issued an order setting aside all of Petitioner’s marital resources for the Community Spouse’s benefit for the purpose of generating sufficient income to reach the MMMNA. […]
Transfer penalty cannot be imposed where transfer was exclusively for purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid. Petitioner was admitted to a nursing home with dementia and her doctor states she cannot make legal decisions. Petitioner owned her home jointly with her daughter following the death of Petitioner’s husband. The daughter then conveyed the home […]
The Limit is the Limit, Part 3. Petitioner was originally admitted to Ridgewood Manor, a nursing home in Dalton, and later transferred in July 2007 to Shepherd Hills in Lafayette. Meanwhile, in May of 2007, her Community Spouse was admitted to a hospital and remained either hospitalized or in a nursing home until his death […]
Penalty Affirmed After Life Estate Conveyed; Hardship Waiver Unavailable Because No Legal Action was Taken to Recover Property. Petitioner, a divorced individual, acquired a life estate in business property with his ex-wife owning the remainder interest. He entered a nursing home in March 2008 and his Medicaid application was denied after the caseworker valued his […]
Transfer Penalty Reversed Where Care Services Were Provided Under Agreement. Petitioner was discharged from a nursing home to home in 2004, where she remained until she returned in 2008. At the time of discharge she agreed to transfer her property valued at $262,970 on the 2006 assessment (when the transfer occurred) if her son provided […]
Cash Value of Life Insurance Cannot Be Designated as Burial Fund. Denial of eligibility was affirmed where Petitioner had a life insurance policy with a face value of $25,000 and a cash value of $2,354 because cash value cannot be designated as a burial fund. Note: compare old Section 2312 with current Section 2312. OSAH-Unknown-Teate-3-2008.pdf (March 13, 2008).
When Determining Value, Equity Value is CMV Minus mortgages and Liens. Petition created a revocable living trust in 2006. In July 2006, her granddaughter charged in excess of $30,000 on Petitioner’s credit cards before the granddaughter was hospitalized. Thereafter, Petitioner fell behind on the mortgage and her home was in danger of foreclosure. Petitioner and […]
No QIT, No Medicaid if Income Exceeds Cap, Part 2. Petitioner entered a nursing home in June 2008 and filed an application for Medicaid. DFCS did not receive or act on the application until July 22, 2008. As a result of inaction, Petitioner did not know that a QIT was needed because income exceeded the […]
Life Insurance Snafu. Petitioner and Respondent stipulated facts in this case. Petitioner applied for nursing home Medicaid in March 2008. DFCS denied the application because Petitioner had three life insurance policies with a cumulative face value of $13,831. Since the face value exceeded $10,000, the cash value of the policies was counted toward Petitioner’s $2,000 […]
No Penalty For Transfer to Disabled Child. DFCS imposed a transfer of resources penalty where Petitioner transferred cash assets to a disabled daughter. DFCS’s reasoning was that cash assets were transferred to the disabled child outright as opposed to transferring them to a trust for her sole benefit. Citing 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c)(2)(B)(iii) and Section 2342 of the […]
No QIT means No Medicaid If Income Exceeds Cap. Petitioner entered the nursing home in July 2007 and applied for Medicaid in August 2007. No one told Petitioner a qualified income trust was needed. A denial was sent in October and Petitioner reapplied in November 2007, establishing the QIT by December 17, 2007. Eligibility was denied for […]
Determining Which Property is the Exempt Homeplace; Whether Jointly Owned Second Property was Exempt. Petitioner lived at her residence in DeKalb County from 1960 until 2002 when she moved to her daughter’s home on Klondike Road in DeKalb County. From there, Petitioner went to an assisted living facility and then, in December 2006, a nursing […]
Penalty Reversed Where Home was Given to Caregiver Child. In 2002, Petitioner’s daughter moved into Petitioner’s home to provide care. In 2003, Petitioner was bedridden after back surgery; the daughter continued providing care on a full-time basis and also paid some of Petitioner’s expenses. On December 25, 2004, Petitioner gave her home to her daughter, […]
No Penalty Where Transfer Reimbursed Third Party for Paying Applicant’s Expenses. Petitioner was admitted to a nursing home on May 7, 2008 and remained there until her death on July 24, 2008. Petitioner filed an application for Medicaid on July 3, 2008, seeking retroactive coverage. The application was denied after DFCS discovered a $22,668.56 transfer […]
The Limit is the Limit, Part 2. Petitioner entered the nursing home on April 17, 2007 and applied for Medicaid on February 22, 2008. Petitioner sough retroactive coverage for November 2007 through January 2008. Unfortunately, Petition was over resourced. After designating stock as a burial resource, she still had $5,569.73 on November 1st, $4,077.13 on […]
Calculation of Cost-Share. As of November 1, 2008, Petitioner’s gross monthly income was $2,385.54. DGCS calculated the cost-share as $2,189 after allowing deductions of $9.25 for federal taxes, $136.72 for health insurance premiums and $50 for Petitioner’s personal needs allowance. The decision does not indicate what additional deduction Petitioner sought, but the DFCS calculation was […]
Corpus of Irrevocable Trust was Countable Resource. Two trusts Petitioner created in 2000 held a cumulative balance of approximately $64,000. Petitioner was settlor and a co-trustee of each trust. On April 21, 2008, Petitioner filed an application for nursing home Medicaid. DFCS determined that the trusts were available resources causing Petition to be ineligible for […]
Cost-share deduction for health insurance premiums. The ALJ stated the issue as whether a nursing home resident is entitled to a deduction from her patient liability for Medicaid for Health insurance premiums paid by her spouse who resides in the community. DFCS disallowed IME coverage for health insurance premiums paid y the Community Spouse, taking […]
The Limit is the Limit. An 84 year old applicant was denied Medicaid for the months of December 2007 through February 2008. She had sold her home in August and after paying debt, used the remaining $18,686 in equity paying for nursing home care until she ran out of funds in December 2007. Her son […]
Where application was lost, eligibility retroactive eligibility related back three months from date of original application. After receiving a personal injury settlement in May 2007, Petitioner was ineligible for Medicaid until she spent down. She spent down before July 1, 2007, reapplying for Medicaid by hand delivery on October 30, 2007. Petitioner did not receive […]
DFCS directed to determine eligibility where application was pending for over one year. Petitioner filed an application for Medicaid on May 22, 2007. On June 18, 2007, a verification package was given to Petitioner’s daughter. On July 1, 2007, the application was denied for failure to provide verification. On July 25, 2007, Petitioner requested a […]
Sole Benefit Trust rejected and transfer penalty imposed. An 86 year old applicant established an irrevocable trust for the benefit of his 64 year old daughter. However, the trust was not submitted to DCH Legal for approval and Petitioner submitted no evidence that the trust comported with Section 2346 relating to special needs trusts. Further, the […]
Transfer Penalty Reversed Where Home Was Returned. Three months prior to a nursing home admission, a 98 year old Petitioner purchased her daughters home for $406,300, plus personal property valued at $26,775. She paid by transferring securities valued at $484,766.78, and $51,691.78 was returned to Petitioner as an over-payment. Petitioner’s alleged hope was that she […]
Incorrect Decision Reached Regarding Status of Community Spouse. A nursing home resident’s spouse was denied a Community Spouse Monthly Income Allowance when she moved to the Philippines after her husband was admitted to a nursing home. She was attempting to secure a visa to return to the U.S. at the time of the hearing and […]
Georgia’s Medicaid Manual cannot be enforced when it conflicts with federal law. Applicant resided in an assisted living facility until she went to a nursing home in 2008 and applied for Medicaid. Prior to that time, her vacant home was placed on the market and sold. To accomplish the sale, Petitioner conveyed her life estate […]
Ignorance of QIT Requirement Does Not Excuse Failure to Comply. Nursing home resident’s son assisted with her October 25, 2007 Medicaid application. At the intake interview on November 7, 2007, he disclosed that he opened a QIT with $50. He did not fund it further by transferring her excess income into the trust until that […]
Assessment of transfer penalty on sale of life estate affirmed. Conservators sold life estate for $1,500, then sold the applicant’s home for $55,000 after putting $13,397 into repairing the home. A transfer of resource penalty was assessed because the life estate interest was .58914 percent of the home value, which is well below $1,500. On […]
No penalty may be assessed where resources are transferred directly to a disabled child. A nursing home resident transferred approximately $24,000 to a disabled child. DFCS imposed a transfer penalty because the funds were transferred directly to the child instead of to a trust for the child. The caseworker’s decision was reversed because 42 U.S.C. 1396p(c)(2)(B)(iii) […]
Hire a Lawyer. An unrepresented nursing home resident applied for Medicaid on December 21, 2007. A 981 was issued after an intake interview on December 27, 2007. However, the 981 erroneously omitted a request for documentation regarding retirement income and social security benefits. The caseworker realized her error on February 5, 2008 (3 days after […]
Community Spouse Resource Allowance administratively raised. Evidence was stipulated that the combined marital income of the couple did not result in post-eligibility income for the Community Spouse that equaled or exceeded the MMMNA. Therefore, the Community Spouse Monthly Income Allowance (CSMIA), 42 U.S.C. § 1396r-5(d)(1)(B), was inadequate to raise the Community Spouse’s post-eligibility income to the […]
Valuation; value of transferable promissory note. Petitioner filed a motion for summary determination and respondent failed to answer. The issue was whether petitioner’s resources exceeded $2,000 during the month in question. Approximately six years prior to the application, in 2002, Petitioner had loaned $66,000 under a promissory note that paid $15 of principal, no interest […]
Transfer of resources penalty affirmed. Nursing home resident applied for Medicaid in January 2008. During review, caseworkers discovered a home assessed at $90,351, was transferred to a close friend for $40,000 within the lookback period. Additionally, $10,000 was withdrawn from the resident’s account and several small checks and a vehicle were issued to the friend. […]
Treatment of retirement accounts. Section Section 2332 indicates that an applicant must apply for periodic benefits, but does not indicate whether the individual must take a minimum distribution from “each” account or whether the individual can aggregate the retirement accounts for purposes of determining whether a sufficient minimum distribution was taken. The ALJ looked to 26 C.F.R. § […]
Resource limit firm; debt not a factor. Petitioner’s application for benefits was denied twice because the Petitioner’s agent was unable to secure information requested by the caseworker. Petitioner’s agent was not able to gain control over the resources until a conservatorship was approved in February, 2008. As of March 1, 2008, Petitioner had $23,453.89 in […]
