The estates of two deceased Medicaid beneficiaries have filed a class action lawsuit against the District of Columbia claiming that it violated federal law when it demanded repayment for Medicaid services even though both deceased beneficiaries were survived by a disabled child. Maryland ElderLawAnswers member attorney Ron M. Landsman is one of three attorneys representing the plaintiffs.
John Just-Buddy and Dionne Kingsbury are the personal representatives of their respective deceased parent’s estates. When Mr. Just-Buddy’s mother died, she left behind a daughter who was determined disabled years before her death. Mr. Just-Buddy paid the District of Columbia Department of Human Services (DHS) the $38,096.21 it insisted on receiving from his mother’s estate for Medicaid services rendered although it was aware of Ms. Just-Buddy’s daughter with disabilities. Similarly, DHS demanded that Ms. Kingsbury repay $76,521.87 from her father’s estate for Medicaid services he had received, despite being told that he had a daughter with disabilities who survived him. Mr. Kingsbury’s estate has not repaid DHS.
Mr. Just-Buddy and Ms. Kingsbury claim that DHS follows a policy or practice that violates the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §1396p(b)(2), 42 C.F.R. § 433.36(h)(2), and D.C. municipal regulations that prohibit the recovery of medical assistance payments from an estate where there survives a child with disabilities, a child under 21, or a spouse. They allege that at least 40 other similarly situated estates have been or will be harmed by DHS’s conduct. For its part, DHS claims that it can collect from the estates of Medicaid beneficiaries, notwithstanding the presence of a surviving disabled child, if that child did not live in the home of the deceased beneficiary.
The plaintiffs seek approval to represent the estates of all persons present, future and going back three years who received Medicaid benefits from DHS and who left a surviving child with disabilities, a child under 21, or a spouse, and from which DHS has demanded or may demand repayment for Medicaid benefits. Mr. Just-Buddy also seeks to represent a subclass of parties who have repaid or will repay DHS. Plaintiffs ask for a declaration that DHS’s actions violate the law and an order that prohibits DHS from demanding Medicaid repayment from estates in violation of the Social Security Act. They also seek an order that DHS repay any amounts it already has been paid.
The suit was filed in the United States District Court, District of Columbia, on April 7, 2017.
For a copy of the complaint, click here.
The parties are represented by ElderLawAnswers member Ron M. Landsman along with Aytan Bellin, Bellin & Associates LLC, and Michael Forster, Forster Law Firm.
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