A New Jersey appeals court reverses a final Medicaid agency decision that ignored an appraiser’s testimony about the actual value of an applicant’s house being less than the tax assessed value when it imposed a penalty period. J.B. v. Camden County Board of Social Services (N.J. Super. Ct., App. Div., No. A-5665-17T4, May 5, 2020).
J.B. entered a nursing home. In preparation for applying for Medicaid, her son, acting under a power of attorney, sold her home for $17,500 to an acquaintance who was a realtor. The tax assessed value of the home was $104,700. J.B. applied for Medicaid, and the state-imposed a 236-day penalty period because she sold her house for less than market value.
