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Page 10 of 14 § 10:71-2.2 Responsibilities in the application process regulations had been provided, the ALJ concluded that the applicant should not have been denied Medicaid eligibility. W.F. v. Monmouth Cty. Bd. of Social Servs., OAL DKT. NO. HMA 16564-14, 2015 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 264, Initial Decision (April 17, 2015). Determinations of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS) twice denying Medicaid benefits on behalf of an applicant who died during the pendency of the application denying the application on the ground that the applicant's wife (and, later, widow) had not produced two insurance policies was rejected by an administrative law judge (ALJ). Though the policies were ultimately produced after having been located by an attorney retained by the widow to assist her in handling her deceased spouse's estate, the widow's age, infirmities and mental and emotional status during the application period rendered her incapable of assisting DMAHS and providing the necessary documents. Those conditions constituted "exceptional circumstances" within the meaning of relevant regulations that warranted an extension of time to provide the documents. The ALJ noted in so finding that the purpose of the regulatory scheme was to facilitate disposition of a Medicaid application on the merits. So long as there was good reason for a failure to provide all documentation, the better practice would be to extend the deadline, obtain all relevant information, and make a determination of the merits. J.F. v. DMAHS and Cumberland Cty. Bd. of Social Servs., OAL DKT. NO. HMA 9678-14 and HMA 17109-14 (CONSOLIDATED), 2015 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 189, Initial Decision (March 6, 2015). Determination by a county board of social services (BSS) denying an application for Medicaid eligibility filed by a nursing home on behalf of a resident therein was not supported by the record because the evidence showed that the resident's condition was such that she could not assist the home in collecting the bank statements that the BSS had requested and the home had made substantial efforts to gather and provide the information requested. Though agreeing that all of the documentation had not been provided, the administrative law judge (ALJ) found that given the resident's inability to assist in assembling the materials and the efforts made to date by the home, denial of eligibility at this time was not appropriate and the home should be afforded additional time within which to try and gather the remaining materials. S.H. v. Essex Cty. Bd. of Social Servs., OAL DKT. NO. HMA 16991-14, 2015 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 188, Initial Decision (March 6, 2015). Determination by a county Board of Social Services (CBSS) denying Medicaid benefits to an applicant on the ground that the applicant had failed to provide required verification and had failed to assist the CBSS in securing relevant documentation was rejected by an administrative law judge. The applicant was a 71 year old who suffered from both psychiatric and physical conditions, and his application had been filed by his estranged wife, from whom he had been separated for 10 years. The testimonial and documentary evidence in the record supported the wife's position that she had responded to the best of her ability to the requests made by the caseworker and was attempting to cooperate with the agency to the extent that she could. A fair reading of the governing regulations showed that there were circumstances where the processing of an application would be delayed beyond the time that was normally essential and that the circumstances of this case were such that the agency should have afforded more time to the wife to address documentation requests made by the caseworker. On that basis, the application was properly reinstated. R.C. v. Camden Cty. Bd. of Social Servs., OAL DKT. NO. HMA 13064-2014, 2015 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 205, Initial Decision (February 12, 2015). Determination that a former resident of a nursing home located in Burlington County was not eligible for Medicaid on account of his failure to provide a verification of his wife's resources or a letter indicating that she had no assets was properly sustained. The original notice to the nursing home, which had filed the application on behalf of the resident while the resident was still residing in its facility, advised that such documents had to be provided no later than October 26, 2013. When the nursing home contacted the Burlington County Board of Social Services (BCBSS) in August of 2014, it advised BCBSS that the resident had left the facility in February 2014 and had been approved for Medicaid in a different county. Given the record as of that date, denial of Medicaid eligibility for failure to provide the requested verification was proper. M.P. v. Burlington Cty. Bd. of Social Servs., OAL DKT. NO. HMA 12429-14, 2015 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 114, Initial Decision (February 11, 2015). Although no Medicaid statute or regulation specifically refers to a "spousal waiver," New Jersey's Medicaid program informally recognizes the existence of such a waiver, and in appropriate cases an applicant is properly