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Lawsuit alleges Maryland health department illegally terminated Medicaid benefits
A group of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have sued the Maryland Department of Health claiming that they were wrongfully removed from Medicaid beneficiary recipient lists.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD. - A group of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have sued the Maryland Department of Health claiming that they were wrongfully removed from Medicaid beneficiary recipient lists.
What we know:
Four people with disabilities alongside a non-profit Medicaid provider in Montgomery County are suing the state in Montgomery County Circuit Court over claims that they were illegally removed from Medicaid benefits.
According to the lawsuit, the Maryland Department of Health arbitrarily "disenrolled hundreds of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities" from Medicaid benefits that support them.
Frank Lee, one of the named plaintiffs, has a mild intellectual disability along with hypertension, high cholesterol, depression and epilepsy. He lives in a group home run by Arc Montgomery County — a non-profit Medicaid provider that helps hundreds of people in the community. Lee claims that he was wrongfully terminated from Medicaid benefits in part because the state health department sent communications to the wrong address, repeatedly.
‘[I]t puts those services in jeopardy’
Dig deeper:
"When people are disenrolled from Medicaid, it puts those services in jeopardy," Arc Montgomery County CEO Daria Cervantes said in a statement. "So some people need support getting out of bed every morning and getting ready for the day. Some people need support to get to a job and earn a paycheck, and some people need support for activities of daily living such as eating and dressing."
State officials decide whether to continue providing Medicaid benefits to recipients each year in a process called re-determination. Re-determinations were paused during the COVID pandemic but resumed in 2023. Lawyers for the challengers say that is when the problems giving rise to this lawsuit began.
Kevin Docherty, lawyer for the plaintiffs, says people did not receive proper notice of the re-determination process, which violates the Constitution's guarantee to due process.
FOX 5 reached out to the Maryland Attorney General's office, which will be responsible for defending the state in this case, and they declined to comment.
The Source: Information above came from FOX 5 DC's Katie Barlow and the lawsuit.