Medicaid Settlement with DHH

But Why? The right to know why Medicaid denied your claim

A recently filed lawsuit, Wells v. Kliebert, Secretary of the Louisiana DHH, 3:14-cv-00155, will be changing the face of Medicaid denial notices. Wells was filed against the Louisiana Department of Health and Human services alleging that the DHH systematically failed to give adequate notice and explanations of why Medicaid claims were denied. The suit alleged the lack of reasoning for the denials was a violation of the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. After the suit was preliminary certified as a class action, DHH and the class discussed a settlement for the matter. On October 24, 2014, The Middle District of Louisiana entered an order certifying the class in the suit and partially dismissing the suit, conditioned on the parties’ compliance with their agreed upon settlement. Continue reading

Overturning of DOMA Has Implications for Medicare Benefits of Same-Sex Couples

On Thursday, August 29, in response to the Supreme Court overturning a key portion of the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA), a handful of agencies announced they would be extending rights to married same-sex couples. Notably, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is one of them. This development means an extension of Medicare benefits to couples previously denied Medicare benefits because of DOMA. Same-sex married couples will be allowed to file joint federal tax returns, and as a result are able to claim marriage-related exemptions, employee benefits, claiming the earned income tax credit and other credits and deductions even if they live in jurisdictions that don’t recognize same-sex marriage. Continue reading