A Maryland appeals court rules that only a personal representative of a deceased Medicaid applicant’s estate can be named a Medicaid authorized representative to pursue a Medicaid appeal on the resident’s behalf. Turner v. Maryland Dept. of Health (Md. Ct. Spec. App., No. 2304, April 2, 2020).
Nursing home resident Linda Turner applied for Medicaid benefits. She passed away just before the state denied her application. The nursing home petitioned the court to be appointed Ms. Turner’s Medicaid authorized representative. The petition was granted, and the nursing home appealed the benefits denial.
The state denied the appeal, claiming the state lacked standing because it was not the personal representative of Ms. Turner’s estate. The trial court agreed with the state, and the nursing home appealed.
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirms, holding that the nursing home did not have standing to appeal the denial of Medicaid benefits. According to the court, the nursing home should not have been appointed the Medicaid authorized representative because “only a personal representative may be designated as the authorized representative to prosecute an appeal from the denial of Medicaid benefits on behalf of a deceased individual.”
For the full text of this decision, go to: https://www.courts.state.md.us/data/opinions/cosa/2020/2304s18.pdf
Did you know that the ElderLawAnswers database now contains summaries of more than 2,000 fully searchable elder law decisions dating back to 1993? To search the database, click here.
Subscribe to the Knowledge Bank.
