Stevens v. Department of Social Welfare

Plaintiff Beverly Stevens appeals from a decision of the Secretary of the Agency of Human Services (Secretary) reversing a decision of the Human Services Board (Board) that granted her retroactive Medicaid benefits. The Secretary concluded that reversal was necessary because the Board (1) exceeded the authority granted it in 3 V.S.A. § 3091(d) by applying the doctrine of equitable estoppel, and (2) erroneously held that the elements of estoppel were met. We reverse the Secretary’s decision and reinstate the decision of the Board.

In May of 1990, plaintiff, a sixty-year-old woman, was diagnosed…