NCLEJ and Partners Sue Florida State Medicaid Agencies, Alleging Unlawful Termination of Healthcare Benefits for Eligible Individuals

Along with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and Disability Rights Florida, NCLEJ filed a federal class action lawsuit against the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration, the two agencies that administer the Medicaid program in the state. We are representing Florida residents with disabilities and children previously in the state’s foster care system or who are in the process of being adopted.

We are suing under the federal Medicaid Act to stop Florida from unlawfully denying Medicaid to eligible individuals. Specifically, these two agencies fail or refuse to conduct reviews in order to determine if individuals remains eligible for Medicaid under any other category before the state terminates benefits and interrupts the individual’s healthcare coverage.

We assert also that Florida violates the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution because the state fails to provide timely and written notice to individuals before terminating their healthcare benefits, leaving particularly vulnerable Florida residents in the lurch and unaware that they no longer have access to critical healthcare services until they try to see a doctor or fill a prescription.

NCLEJ is working with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and Disability Rights Florida on the case.