Federal court orders Medicaid in spousal annuity case

A Federal District Court has permanently enjoined Pennsylvania from treating an actuarially sound, irrevocable, non-assignable immediate annuity as a resource of the community spouse. Pennsylvania had denied Medicaid eligibility based on the position that the annuity was marketable.  It had offered an affidavit from J.G. Wentworth Company stating that it would buy the community spouse’s rights to the annuity payments for $185,000. The plaintiff, Robert James, was represented by attorneys Matthew Parker and Kevin Grebas of the Elder Law Firm of Marshall, Parker and Associates.  The ruling, based on federal Medicaid law, is significant for the protection of community spouses from financial impoverishment. A copy of the Court’s memorandum and order is available online at www.paelderlaw.com