New Jersey’s Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) released a Consumer Brief on Medicaid Advisors/Application Assistors. Medicaid Advisors/Application Assistors are non-lawyers who provide limited services without payment or compensation in connection with Medicaid applications. According to the DCA Consumer Brief, the limited services which Medicaid Advisors/Application Assistors may perform include the following:

• providing information on insurance affordability programs and coverage options;
• helping individuals to complete an application or renewal;
• working with the individual to provide required documentation;
• submitting applications and renewals to the agency;
• interacting with the agency on the status of applications and renewals;
• assisting individuals with responses to any requests from the agency; and,
• managing the individual’s case between the eligibility determination and regularly scheduled renewals.

Medicaid Advisors/Application Assistors cannot provide advice in any matters that require the professional judgment of a lawyer. Services that require the professional judgment of a lawyer include strategies to facilitate Medicaid eligibility. In New Jersey, non-lawyers are prohibited from providing advice on strategies to become eligible for Medicaid. Advice on strategies to become eligible for Medicaid may be provided only by lawyers.

The Consumer Brief notes that some non-lawyer Medicaid Advisors/Application Assistors have charged consumers substantial sums of money to assist the consumer in filing for Medicaid. In some cases, the assistance provided Medicaid by a Medicaid  Advisor/Application Assistor was faulty or incomplete, causing the consumer, significant financial loss or both.

The DCA Consumer Brief is annexed below: 

Download (PDF, 501KB)

For additional information concerning Medicaid applications and appeals, visit: https://vanarellilaw.com/medicaid-applications-medicaid-appeals/