Authorized representative lacks standing to seek direct appeal posthumously for Medicaid beneficiary

A Petition for Direct Appeal was submitted by an authorized representative who had been appointed by a Medicaid beneficiary’s conservator.  The Medicaid beneficiary had died prior to the filing of the Petition.  The question central to this matter was whether the authorized representative could still act on behalf of the beneficiary after her death. The Court ultimately concluded that the representative had no power to act, and the Petition for Direct Appeal was dismissed for lack of standing.  The Court concluded that, while the law was silent as to whether an authorized representative’s authority survives the Medicaid beneficiary’s death, the representative’s authority could be analogized to that of a attorney-in-fact or a legal guardian, which does end at the principal’s death.