NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-3559-17T4 M.H., Petitioner-Appellant, v. DIVISION OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE AND HEALTH SERVICES and OCEAN COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES, Respondents-Respondents. ______________________________ Submitted October 24, 2019 – Decided November 13, 2019 Before Judges Suter and DeAlmeida. On appeal from the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services. SB2 Inc., attorneys for appellant (Laurie M. Higgins, on the briefs). Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General, attorney for respondent Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (Melissa H. Raksa, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Jacqueline R. D'Alessandro, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief). PER CURIAM Petitioner M.H. appeals from a February 27, 2018 final decision of the Director, Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS), adopting the initial decision of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) finding him ineligible for Medicaid benefits because he failed to submit information necessary to verify his eligibility. We affirm. I. On March 8, 2016, M.H. submitted an application for Medicaid benefits to the county welfare agency (CWA) for Ocean County. The application listed M.H. as single and having no resources of any kind. Through an investigation, CWA discovered M.H. was married. On April 4, 2016, CWA requested M.H. submit information and documents regarding his marital status, immigration status, residency, bank accounts, real property, life insurance policies, and other assets held in the past five years to verify his eligibility for benefits. See N.J.A.C. 10:71-4.10 (disallowing benefits for applicants who dispose of assets at less than fair market value during a sixty-month lookback period). The agency also requested M.H. provide information and documents regarding his spouse's income. See A-3559-17T4 2 N.J.A.C. 10:71-5.5(a) (including the income of an applicant's spouse in some circumstances to determine eligibility for benefits). Finally, CWA requested M.H. explain why his receipt of social security benefits had been suspended. CWA informed M.H. his application would be denied if the requested information and documents were not provided by April 18, 2016. CWA subsequently extended the deadline to April 28, 2016. On April 18, 2016, M.H.'s counsel submitted some, but not all, of the information and documents requested by CWA. No social security information was provided. However, M.H.'s counsel enclosed a copy of a letter to the Social Security Administration requesting an explanation of why M.H.'s benefits had been suspended. Counsel represented M.H. was married, but separated from his spouse five years earlier. He produced no evidence establishing the separation or its duration. Counsel asked CWA to request a spousal waiver from DMAHS, that is, to have M.H.'s eligibility for benefits determined without consideration of his spouse's assets. See 42 U.S.C. § 1396r-5(c)(3)(C). In addition, counsel requested CWA's assistance in obtaining an explanation for ...
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