Winslow v. State ex rel. Peterson

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Medicaid benefits to LaVeta Winslow based on excess resources, including a house held by her revocable trust. The court held that the property was no longer exempt as Winslow’s home and that DHHS was required to provide an Agreement to Sell Real Estate and Repay Assistance form once it determined that Winslow had authority to liquidate the property and would otherwise satisfy the resource limit. Because Winslow’s September 2016 application was properly denied under the applicable regulations, the district court’s judgment was affirmed.

Holdings

1. The Mankato house was not Winslow's home for Medicaid eligibility purposes because she had resided in a nursing facility beyond the regulatory six-month period and the house was no longer her principal place of residence.
2. Real property held by a revocable trust may qualify for the six-month liquidation exception if it is an available resource and the applicant has legal authority to liquidate it; the applicant need not hold title in her individual name.
3. DHHS was required to provide an IM-1 form once it had sufficient information that Winslow had authority to liquidate the property and would be under the resource limit if the house were excluded. However, the record did not establish that DHHS had sufficient information about Winslow's other resources before December 30, 2016, so DHHS was not required to provide the form earlier on this record.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Mankato house qualified as Winslow's exempt home for purposes of her September 2016 Medicaid application.
2. Whether property held by Winslow's revocable trust could qualify for the other-real-property liquidation exception when Winslow had authority to liquidate it.
3. Whether DHHS was required to provide Winslow an IM-1 form before December 30, 2016, based on the information available concerning her other resources.

Disposition

affirmed