Marylanders with developmental disabilities sue health department over Medicaid terminations

A group of Maryland residents are alleging that Maryland's Medicaid system is unfairly cutting off care to people with disabilities.

In a class action lawsuit filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Sept. 24, Maryland residents and The Arc Montgomery County say the Maryland Department of Health's (MDH) Medicaid eligibility process has wrongly cut hundreds of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities off from critical services.

The complaint names the MDH, its secretary Meena Seshamani, and the State of Maryland as defendants

A spokesperson for the MDH told WJZ that the department does not comment on litigation.

What does the lawsuit allege?

The lawsuit alleges Maryland's Medicaid system unlawfully cut thousands of people with disabilities off from life-sustaining services by violating due process and federal Medicaid law.

The plaintiffs allege the system is "dysfunctional" and say at least 30 people supported by The Arc Montgomery County, including the named plaintiffs, have already been disenrolled.

In the filing, the plaintiffs accuse the MDH of arbitrarily disenrolling hundreds of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2023.

"MDH sent hundreds of notices to people with IDD supported by The Arc Montgomery County to a mailing address that The Arc had not used in more than five years," the plaintiffs wrote. "As a result, participants in the waiver programs were left completely uninformed about important redetermination deadlines and decisions regarding their eligibility for Medicaid."

The filing also alleges the MDH issued "hundreds of notices" informing people with intellectual disabilities that they were being disenrolled from Medicaid based on state regulations that do not exist.

Plaintiffs experiences detailed

The lawsuit details the experiences of four individuals who the plaintiffs allege wrongly lost their Medicaid services. 

• One plaintiff, Ursula Battle, who has cerebral palsy and needs full-time care, lost her Medicaid services after the state sent her both an approval letter and a termination notice on the same day, claiming her assets were too high, the suit alleges.
• Constance Farrell, who has mild intellectual disability, early-onset dementia and seizures, was cut off from Medicaid after the Maryland Department of Health claimed it never received her renewal paperwork and issued a closure notice., according to the complaint. 
• Frank Lee, another plaintiff, who has a mild intellectual disability and epilepsy, was wrongly terminated from Medicaid after the MDH claimed he failed to provide required information, the complaint alleges. 
• A fourth individual, Yolanda Puzzo, who has moderate intellectual disability and multiple chronic health conditions, was allegedly disenrolled from Medicaid after the Maryland Department of Health sent notices to the wrong address and issued a closure notice. 

The lawsuit also claims that in the termination notices for Lee, Puzzo, and Farrell the MDH cited a Medicaid procedural code that they allege does not exist.

In addition to the individual plaintiffs, The Arc Montgomery County, a non-profit, alleges MDH isn't paying them for millions of dollars in care already delivered, which could collapse their ability to keep serving people with disabilities.

Since January 2024, The Arc has delivered more than $9 million worth of supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), according to the complaint. The organization alleges the MDH has not reimbursed them, even though they are contractually obligated to.