One of the threshold eligibility requirements for Medicaid has to do with legal status. N.J.S.A. 30:4D-3(q)(1)(a). If a person is an alien (non-citizen) with the status of a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) (“green card holder”) who was present in the United States prior to August 22, 1996, s/he is eligible to apply for Medicaid (and receive “full Medicaid benefits” if all other criteria are met). NJAC 10:71-3.11(c)1. On the other hand, if an alien enters the United States on or after that date, s/he can apply for Medicaid “after having been present in the United States for five years,” N.J.A.C. 10:71-3.11(d), unless s/he is in one of the protected categories that are further detailed in that regulation. So a person who meets the criteria is an “eligible alien” who could receive full Medicaid benefits. An alien who is not an “eligible alien” can receive emergency medical treatment only.
A recent case arose involving an 88 year old who had held LPR status since 1991. He had worked the necessary length of time and was insured under the Social Security system (40 calendar quarters). In 2007 he left the United States and gave up his LPR card. Seven years later he returned and again received an LPR card. In 2015 he applied for institutional Medicaid benefits but the application was denied under the section (d) five-year rule cited above. he requested a Hearing and the case was tried.
The pivotal part of the evidence at the hearing seems to be as follows, quoted from the Appellate decision: ” The supervisor of Adult Medicaid for the SCBSS testified that when K.K. applied for Medicaid, both his new LPR card and the agency computer system noted an entry date of July 2014, with no indication that he had previously resided in the country. His application stating his 1991 entry was not considered. K.K. was thus rejected because the computer records reviewed reflected he had not been an LPR for five years, as required of someone who entered the United States after August 22, 1996. At the hearing, K.K. proved he had entered the United States in 1991 and received an LPR card in 1996, which he surrendered upon leaving the country in 2007. His LPR card was at that time set to expire in 2015, after he applied for Medicaid. The card he obtained upon reentry in 2014 is valid until 2024. Both cards have the same identification number.”
Although the denial was affirmed by the administrative law judge and Director of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, the appellate court reversed in a precedential published opinion called K.K. v. Div. of Med. Assistance & Health Servs.,
The Court agreed with Mr. K that since he had previously met the criteria of section (c) — presence in the United States before August 22, 1996 — the lapse in his residency did not terminate his eligible alien status..The Court reversed the decision and authorized the application to proceed. The Court also cited an earlier case from 2009, which was A.B. v. Div. of Med. Assistance & Health Servs., 407 N.J. Super. 330, 338 (App. Divi. 2009) in which the Court declared and held that “once an immigrant obtains qualified alien status, he or she does not have to remain continuously present in the United States in order to avoid application of the five-year bar.”
The Medicaid program operates within a complex web of intertwining and often unclear regulations and statutes. For advice and representation concerning Medicaid eligibility, call us at ….. 732-382-6070