Husband Must Reimburse State for Wife’s Medicaid Costs

In January 2008, Rita Murphy-Scola entered a nursing home and her husband, Stephen Scola, filed a spousal refusal declaration with Mrs. Murphy-Scola’s Medicaid benefits applications. The Department of Social Services approved the application, and sent letter to Mr. Scola, demanding reimbursement for the benefits it had paid for Mrs. Murphy-Scola up to that point. Mr. Scola ignored the letter.

Between January 2008 and July 2011, Mr. Scola transferred a majority of his asset into a revocable trust, and the Department filed suit against Mr. Scola in July 2011. Mr. Scola claimed he could not be liable for not handing over the assets to the Department because he could not access the assets needed.

In The Commissioner of the Department of Social Services of the City of New York v. Scola (N.Y. Sup.Ct., No.401646/2009 (Nov. 15, 2011), the Supreme Court of New York, New York County, granted the Department’s motion for summary judgment. The court ruled that the state was entitled to reimbursement from Mr. Scola because state law creates an implied contract that entitles the state to recover Medicaid costs. The court found Mr. Scola’s argument to be “without merit as the issue before this court is limited to whether the Department is entitled to a judgment against the defendant and not what funds can be used to satisfy the judgment which is obtained.”

See Community Spouse Can’t Avoid Judgment in Spousal Refusal Case by Transferring Assets to Trust, ElderLawAnswers, Nov. 28, 2011.