Health Care/Health Reform

Will health reform help those at the bottom of the ladder? Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, states are required to expand their Medicaid programs in 2014 to cover people below 133% of poverty, adding millions of additional low-income adults and children to the Medicaid rolls. In its June 2012 decision, however, the Supreme Court said the mandate unconstitutionally coerces the states and that HHS cannot withhold all federal medicaid funding from states that do not implement the expansion. Some governors have announced their states will not expand Medicaid, leaving millions of low-income Americans uninsured.

Of immediate concern, many states are now violating federal law when they delay or deny Medicaid benefits – and that’s what makes NCLEJ's current litigation program so critical. Countless families across the country have already had their Medicaid saved by NCLEJ and its partners.

As health reform is implemented, NCLEJ is prepared to work with advocates, community groups, and state officials to assure that the programs operate efficiently and truly serve those who are eligible for care. And we are prepared to work with advocates and community groups to assure that states do not violate the law – even if this means going to court to stop them. In all of these efforts we focus on results that make real differences for our clients.

We welcome inquiries from advocates about how we may work collaboratively to achieve the most for those with the least. Feel free to contact us.

Highlights of NCLEJ Advocacy:

• Benefits Expedited for Over 9,000 Maryland Medicaid Applicants (May 2013)
• Persistent Nassau County (NY) Delays Lead to Motion for Contempt (March 2013)
• NCLEJ and Other Advocates Sue Missouri for Medicaid Change that Would Cause Unnecessary Institutionalization of Dialysis Patients (June 2012)
• NCLEJ Joins Supreme Court Amicus Brief Supporting the Affordable Care Act (March 2012)
• Contempt Motion Responds to Suffolk County’s Failure to Provide Promised Food and Medical Assistance Promptly (February 2012)
• NCLEJ and Colleagues Sue Columbia County, NY for Systemic Failure to Process Food Stamp, Medicaid, and Cash Assistance Applications in a Timely Fashion (June 2011)
• NCLEJ and Colleagues Achieve Settlements to Secure Colorado's Timely Processing of Medicaid, SNAP, CHIP, and TANF Applications (June 2011)
• Improving Automated Medicaid Eligibility Systems: NCLEJ Comments on HHS Proposals (January 2011) (pdf)
• NCLEJ Urges Strengthening of Proposed Regulations to Increase Public Participation in the Review of Medicaid Demonstration Projects. (November 2010) (pdf)
• Health Reform Implementation: NCLEJ Comments to HHS on State Health Exchanges (October 2010) (pdf)
• New Mexico Court Allows Agricultural Workers to Pursue Case Challenging Denial of Workers' Compensation (May 2010)
• NCLEJ Report on Barriers Childless Adults Face in Accessing Public Health Insurance (April 2010)
• NCLEJ Sues Nassau County NY For Delaying Food Stamps, Medicaid, and Cash Public Assistance to Hundreds Each Month (April 2010)
• NCLEJ Sues New Hampshire for Failing to Pay Full Medical Costs (January 2010)
• Permanent Injunction Barring Food Stamp, Medicaid, and Cash Public Assistance Application Delays Granted in Maryland (December 2009)
• NCLEJ, Western New York Law Center, and Empire Justice Center file class action challenging food stamp, Medicaid, and cash public assistance application delays in Steuben County, NY (July 2009)
• Issue Brief on New York Medicaid Spenddown Excess Income Program (June 2009) (pdf)
• NCLEJ and Empire Justice Center Achieve Settlement Ending Lengthy Delays in Processing of Food Stamp and Medicaid Applications in Long Island, New York (June 2009)
• NCLEJ and Empire Justice Center File Class Action Challenging Medicaid Application Delays on Long Island, NY (August 2008)
• NCLEJ Achieves Settlement Providing Due Process Protections for Tens of Thousands of Missouri Children (April 2008)
• NCLEJ and Colleagues Achieve Settlement in Colorado Requiring Prompt Processing of Benefits Applications (January 2008)
• Testimony - Needs of Youth Aging Out of Foster Care (October 2007) (pdf)
• NCLEJ and Colleagues Protect Medicaid for Working Parents in Texas (2005)
• NCLEJ and Colleagues Save Medicaid for Legal Immigrants in Colorado (2004)
• NCLEJ Helps Secure Dental Care for 60,000 New Hampshire Children

Thanks for your great work! You provided critical, time-urgent assistance that was essential to our successful lawsuit compelling New Hampshire to abide by the federal Medicaid law - so that more than 60,000 low-income children in our state can receive dental care.

- Ken Barnes, Litigation Director, New Hampshire Legal Assistance