UPDATE: On Wednesday April 1, 2015 the Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint adding an additional organizational plaintiff. The Court held a hearing on the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, which was subsequently granted on April 2. The State was ordered to reinstate the Medicaid benefits of the named individual plaintiffs, and was enjoined from terminating benefits of any organization members until the State implements passive re-determination and corrects problems with the Notices of termination.

On Monday, March 30, 2015 the Legal Aid Society of Columbus filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio regarding the State’s failure to properly conduct Medicaid renewals. This failure has led to over 150,000 Medicaid beneficiaries being terminated since the beginning of the year. The Complaint, filed on behalf of three individuals and Community Immigration and Refugee Services, Inc., contains multiple claims against the State, including: failure to redetermine individual eligibility for continuing Medicaid coverage from information already existing in the State’s information systems, as required by federal law (known as passive redetermination); failure to conduct reviews prior to termination to determine eligibility for other existing Medicaid programs; and failure to properly notify individuals regarding their rights to dispute the termination of Medicaid, as required by basic Due Process. The Plaintiffs request declarations that the State’s practices are unlawful, and seek to immediately restore the individuals’ Medicaid benefits. You can read the Complaint and Motion for Temporary Restraining Order.