Justice Alexander Hunter Jr.
The New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) sought to vacate a portion of a judgment appointing a guardian for J.T. Rebekah Rehab and Extended Care Center sought appointment of a guardian of J.T., which was granted. The order directed the guardian of J.T.’s property to be compensated $450 monthly to be deducted from J.T.’s income, and be deemed excluded from J.T.’s income for purposes of Medicaid calculation of Net Available Monthly Income (NAMI), as such expenditure for the administrative costs of this action was necessary to insure medical and physical well-being of J.T. HRA argued incapacitated individuals who only have assignable income, such as Social Security benefits, were not entitled to a deduction for ongoing guardianship fees as their income could be directly assigned to the nursing home. The court disagreed noting the functional limitations of J.T. necessitate his continued stay at a skilled nursing facility, finding the guardianship fees were medical expenses necessary for J.T. to access medical care. Yet, the Department of Health was vested with the authority to determine if such fees were to be deducted from the NAMI calculation, and to hold otherwise would be in excess of the court’s authority. Thus, it granted HRA’s application.
