Suit against Maryland over Medicaid

A new class action is aiming to cut the costs of long-term care for Maryland residents on Medicaid:

The state of Maryland has been systematically denying hundreds or thousands of senior citizens Medicaid benefits to which they are entitled under federal law, according to a class action suit filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

The complaint alleges that Medicaid-eligible seniors in Maryland are being denied a federally mandated deduction for pre-eligibility medical expenses, including outstanding debts for nursing home care, when the state calculates their income and the contribution they must make toward their own care.

More specifically:

The plaintiffs want the court to order the state to recalculate the expenses of every senior who was previously denied such deductions.

They also seek to void a 2004 rule change, under which the state will allow a deduction for three months’ worth of pre-eligibility debts, provided they were incurred after Apr. 1, 2004.