A New Jersey appeals court rules that the state properly denied Medicaid benefits to a Medicaid applicant who did not provide a copy of her birth certificate or information about her living expenses. G.C. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (N.J. Sup. Ct., App. Div., No. A-1700-15T3, May 16, 2018).
G.C. entered a nursing home and applied for Medicaid. The state sent G.C. a notice requesting a copy of her birth certificate, a copy of her Social Security card, and information about how her living expenses were paid for the past five years, among other things. G.C. provided her Social Security number and five years’ worth of income tax returns, but not the other information. The state denied her Medicaid benefits.
G.C. appealed, arguing that the information she was required to supply was not readily available and that the state was required to obtain the information on her behalf. The state affirmed the denial of benefits, and G.C. appealed to court.
The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, affirms, holding that G.C. needed to provide the information requested so that the state could evaluate her eligibility for benefits. According to the court, while G.C. was not required to provide her Social Security card, she was required to submit her birth certificate to prove her citizenship. The court also rules that G.C.'s income tax returns were insufficient to assess her eligibility for Medicaid because "the income tax returns yielded no meaningful evidence about whether her expenses were covered by her reported income and financial resources."
For the full text of this decision, go to: https://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/attorneys/assets/opinions/appellate/unpublished/a1700-15.pdf?cacheID=yfRAklb
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