Federal law requires Medicaid recipients to pay
from their income received a portion of their monthly
nursing home bill, called the resident's "liability." Two
important questions of federal law arise regarding how
to calculate a resident's liability:

1. Did the Indiana Court of Appeals incorrectly
determine a question of federal law by ruling that,
when calculating the resident's liability, a state Medicaid agency must include garnished income in "income
received," thus creating a conflict with the South Dakota Supreme Court?

2. In determining this question of federal law,
was it error for the Indiana Court of Appeals to defer
to the state Medicaid agency's interpretation of "income received" in 42 C.F'R. § 485.725?

Whether a state Medicaid agency must include garnished income in 'income received' when calculating a nursing home resident's liability