In 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published final rules that states must abide by in their waiver programs for home and community-based services (HCBS). Since then, the implementation of the new rules has been delayed – first, so that states had more time to comply, and then later due to the pandemic. However, CMS has announced that they are holding tight to the latest deadline of March 2023.

The Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling last week that dictates that a state’s Medicaid agency can recoup funds for benefits paid against an injured party’s settlement award for future medical expenses.

In this case, a Florida student was tragically injured and left in a vegetative state when she was hit by a truck after she stepped off her school bus. Her personal injury suit settled with an $800,000 award, of which roughly $35,000 was designated for past medical expenses. Instead of taking the amount designated for past medical expenses, the state Medicaid agency tried to attach $300,000 of the settlement proceeds.

In Michigan, a court can issue an order for the transfer of assets from one spouse to another when one spouse is institutionalized. Such order is termed a protective order and is authorized under the state’s Estates and Protected Individuals Code. But what is required for a court to issue a binding order?