Medicaid Applicants Who Did Not Receive Post-Default Notice Are Entitled to Summary Judgment

A U.S. district court holds that a group of Medicaid applicants who received a preliminary injunction on their request for a post-default notice do have standing to receive summary judgment on the claim because they demonstrated that they were injured by not receiving the notice. Fishman v. Daines (E.D. N.Y., No. 09-cv-5248(JFB)(ARL), March 30, 2017).

Once New York State determines a Medicaid applicant is no longer entitled to Medicaid, it sends a letter notifying the applicant that he or she may request a fair hearing. The state then sends two more letters, notifying applicants that a fair hearing has been requested and scheduled. If an applicant misses the hearing, a default judgment will be entered against him or her.

Two Medicaid applicants initiated a class action against the state of New York, claiming that the state does not provide proper notice before entering a default judgment. The applicants asked for a preliminary injunction, requiring the state to mail a default notice to applicants before their appeals are abandoned. The U.S. district court granted the applicants a preliminary injunction, holding that the applicants showed a likelihood of success on the merits based on federal and state regulations. The applicants filed a motion for summary judgment. The state argued that the applicants did not have standing because they did not show that they were injured by not receiving another notice.

The U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, grants the applicants' motion for summary judgment and makes the preliminary injunction permanent. According to the court, the applicants demonstrated irreparable injury because the wrongful denial of Medicaid benefits is "the type of non-monetary, imminent harm that is properly characterized as irreparable."

For the full text of this decision, go to: https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/new-york/nyedce/2:2009cv05248/298636/162/0.pdf?ts=1490887205

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