NEWS AND INFORMATION
NHLA Files Suit Against Department of Health and Human Services over Dragging Its Feet on Providing Medicaid Benefits to Disabled Adults
Three New Hampshire residents have filed a class action lawsuit against the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (?DHHS?) in Federal District Court for failing to make timely decisions to provide Medicaid disability benefits. DHHS is supposed to make decisions about a person?s eligibility for disabilities benefits within 90 days. The three residents of New Hampshire who have filed this action have waited, respectively, 273 days, 188 days, and 170 days for a decision from DHHS on their initial applications. In any given month, there are more than 1000 people waiting for a decision and over one half of those people have been waiting longer than 90 days. ?Becoming disabled is a catastrophic event in any person?s lifetime and these delays cause severe difficulties in an applicant?s life.? says Ben Mortell, an attorney for the Plaintiffs who filed the case, ?Many people are struggling to pay for basic necessities, mortgage or rent, and forgoing necessary medical treatment because of these delays.? A person qualifying for benefits will get needed medical coverage and income to supplement his or her living expenses. However, waiting six months to a year for a decision plunges many people into poverty at a time in their lives when they are most vulnerable. The Plaintiffs filed this class action suit to force DHHS to make timely decisions. They also want to ensure that applicants are properly informed in writing if the state needs to extend the 90 day time frame. While DHHS is allowed to extend the deadline in unusual circumstances, it is required to do so in writing and is required to inform an applicant of his or her right to a fair hearing to contest the delay. ?The ultimate goal of this class action lawsuit is to ensure that DHHS will make more timely decisions about benefits for disabled residents of our state so that much of the pain and difficulty they are currently experiencing is decreased,? Mortell says. ?A timely decision will allow people to receive necessary medical treatment and enable them to meet their basic needs, so that they can continue to live their lives with dignity.? New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) and the Disabilities Rights Center (DRC) are representing the three NH residents who filed this case. NHLA is a statewide non-profit law firm which provides civil legal services to low-income and elderly residents of New Hampshire. DRC is a statewide non-profit law firm which provides civil legal services to disabled residents of New Hampshire.
