Judge orders Ohio to reinstate Medicaid for those in lawsuit

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

A federal judge ordered Ohio officials Thursday to reinstate Medicaid benefits for people in a lawsuit but denied a request to expand such relief to tens of thousands of others being terminated from the program.

The decision comes in a case involving how the state’s Medicaid agency “re-determines” the eligibility of recipients in the federal-state program.

The Legal Aid Society of Columbus has sued Ohio’s Medicaid director on behalf of several individuals and two nonprofits in central Ohio: the Community Refugee and Immigration Services and Community Development for All People.

The lawsuit claims that the Medicaid benefits of the five plaintiffs and individuals served by the nonprofits were either terminated or put at risk after the state failed to follow federal law and Medicaid regulations. Among other issues, the legal group argues that the state failed to conduct certain Medicaid procedures and did not adequately notify recipients as to why coverage was being terminated and how to appeal it.

Judge Algenon Marbley ordered Ohio to reinstate benefits for individuals in the case and those members identified by the plaintiff organizations as dropped from Medicaid or at risk of losing it based on the state’s procedures. The judge also temporarily blocked the state from terminating the coverage of members belonging to the two organizations unless officials adopt certain practices such as using more-detailed termination notices and instituting a “passive” re-determination process in accordance with federal law.

The state has said it recently started the “passive” process for those whose eligibility is up in May.

“We respect the court’s decision and are in the process of complying with the order,” Ohio Medicaid spokesman Sam Rossi said Thursday.