N.M. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services et al., A-0828-07T1; Appellate Division; opinion by Skillman, P.J.A.D.; decided and approved for publication February 26, 2009. Before Judges Skillman, Graves and Grall. On appeal from the Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services. DDS No. 22-2-xxxx [19 pp.]
N.M. entered a nursing home as a private-pay patient in 2004. Her husband, A.M., remained in the marital residence. In 2006, an application was made on N.M.’s behalf for Medicaid eligibility. Two weeks earlier, A.M. used $131,500 of the couple’s assets to purchase a commercial annuity under which he is entitled to receive monthly payments. He is the sole beneficiary of the annuity, which is nonassignable and nontransferable, although he conceded that it can be sold on the open market.
