DHA Case No. CWA 220708 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 2, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF IRIS participants are assigned budgets based on their Long-Term Care Functional Screens, which they must generally stay within (or request a budget amendment). In this case, petitioner received 10 home-delivered meals per week due, in part, to chronic […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 220385 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 26, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Enrollment in Family Care may be backdated if an unreasonable delay was caused by agency error. In this case, the petitioner was disenrolled when she failed to complete her renewal, then reapplied and was enrolled again eight months […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 220307 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 12, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF To be eligible for Family Care, an applicant must have a long-term care functional screen to determine his or her functional eligibility. In this case, the petitioner submitted an online ACCESS application indicating that she needed help with […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 220551 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 9, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF MCOs may not deny a service that is reasonable and necessary, and in an amount, scope, and duration needed to cost-effectively support the member’s long-term care outcomes. In this case, the petitioner lived in a 1-2 bed adult […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 220498 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 5, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Services provided through the Family Care program must be cost-effective. In this case, the petitioner lived at an AFH and attended a nearby adult day service program that proved very beneficial. When he moved to a different AFH, […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 221013 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 25, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF IRIS funds approved through the budget amendment process must be used for the requested service and cannot be transferred to a different service or service type, or a different provider type. In this case, the petitioner was enrolled […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 219708 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 17, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF To be eligible for full services through an MCO, a Family Care member must require a “nursing home” level of care. In this case, the petitioner was enrolled in Family Care with Lakeland as her MCO, had an […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 219586 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 16, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Participants in Family Care have the right to appeal any adverse benefit determination. In this case, the petitioner’s MCO involuntarily ended her ability to self-direct her services and claimed this was not appealable because it was not an […] Read more

DHA Case No. MRA 220384 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 7, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF In general, all gross income is counted when determining eligibility and cost share for Family Care. In this case, the petitioner was enrolled in Institutional MA and allocated the maximum amount of income to her community spouse, who […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 220139 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 2, 2026) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF To be functionally eligible for the IRIS program, an individual must belong to one of the following target groups (in addition to needing a nursing home level of care): frail elderly, adult with a physical disability, or adult […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 153514 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 31, 2014) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Medicaid Eligibility Handbook provides that spouses who live together are part of each other’s fiscal test group. In this case, the petitioner resided in assisted living on Family Care while his spouse resided in a separate home. […] Read more

DHA Case No. MRA 9/41969 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Dec. 9, 1999) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Federal law defines “institutionalized spouse” as someone who is either: (a) in a medical institution and whose spouse is not in a medical institution, or (b) receiving Community Waivers services and whose spouse is not in a medical […] Read more

DHA Case No. MRA 70/21384 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Mar. 30, 1998) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Medicaid Eligibility Handbook defines a “community spouse” as someone who is both married to an institutionalized person and not living in a medical institution for 30 or more days. In this case, the petitioner resided in a […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 220397 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Dec. 29, 2025) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Family Care program, through MCOs, must generally provide services that reasonably and effectively address all of the recipient’s long-term needs and outcomes, assist the recipient to be as self-reliant and autonomous as possible, and are cost effective. […] Read more