Claus ex rel. Claus v. Goshert

657 F. Supp. 237
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedMarch 25, 1987
DocketNo. L 81-48
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 657 F. Supp. 237 (Claus ex rel. Claus v. Goshert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Claus ex rel. Claus v. Goshert, 657 F. Supp. 237 (N.D. Ind. 1987).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ALLEN SHARP, Chief Judge.

This matter is before the court on the plaintiffs’ Motion for an Order Awarding Attorney Fees. Plaintiffs initially filed their complaint on July 29, 1981, stating an action for declaratory and injunctive relief, brought on behalf of a class of individuals in Indiana who are eligible for Medicaid. The purpose of the action was to enjoin implementation of Public Law 141 of the 1981 Regular Session of the Indiana General Assembly, which required Medicaid recipients to make copayments for all non-federally mandated medical assistance services provided under I.C. § 12-1-7-14.9. The plaintiffs alleged that the attempt to implement Public Law 141 constituted a violation of the Indiana Administrative Adjudication Act, I.C. §§ 4-22-2-1 et seq., and further violated due process rights secured by the Fourteenth Amendment, and federal regulations promulgated pursuant to Sub-chapter XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1396 et seq.

Additionally, the plaintiffs complained that the defendants had violated federal law in failing to protect the personal needs allowance of a sub-class of Medicaid-eligible individuals receiving care in skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities. Finally, the plaintiffs stated that the defendants’ proposed rule revision failed to provide proper notification and hearing, imposed copayments on intermediate care facility residents in violation of federal regulations and state law, and failed to exempt certain mandatory Medicaid services from copayments as required by federal law. The plaintiffs cited authorization for their causes of action as 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and § 1396, and 28 U.S.C. Sections 2201 and 2202.

[240]*240On August 7, 1981, the court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, prohibiting the implementation and enforcement of Acts 1981, Public Law 141 of the State of Indiana, until further order of the court. The order focused primarily on procedural matters and requested that defendants notify the court if errors were corrected and the question became moot. See Claus v. Smith, 519 F.Supp. 829 (N.D. Ind.1981).

On November 6, 1981, the defendants sought court approval of a revised plan, to which the plaintiffs objected. Having heard arguments on January 21, 1982, the court took the matter under advisement, with both sides submitting written memoranda. Defendants argued that the plaintiffs were attempting to raise substantive issues not addressed in the complaint, whereupon, by leave of court, the plaintiffs amended the pleadings for the second time. Defendants filed a motion to reconsider which the court denied. On June 1, 1982, the defendants answered the amended complaint and a pretrial conference was held on December 27, 1982. On February 7, 1988, the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking an entry of judgment that would:

(1) [Certify] this cause as a class action on behalf of all individuals in the state of Indiana who are now or may in the future be eligible for Medicaid.
(2) [Declare] Defendants’ actions before the preliminary injunction, to implement and enforce copayments without providing timely and adequate notice to all members of the Plaintiff class, to be violative of 42 C.F.R. §§ 431.205, 431.210, 431.220, and 447.205, I.C. § 4-22-2-4, and due process.
(3) [Declare] that Defendants’ final rule [failed] to meet the requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 1396o (c) that no Medicaid provider may deny medical care or services to a Medicaid recipient on account of such individual’s inability to pay a copayment.
(4) [Declare] that Defendants’ final rule [imposed] copayments upon residents of intermediate care facilities in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1396o (a) (2)(C) and 42 C.F.R. §§ 435.725(c)(1) and (4).
(5) [Declare] that Defendants’ final rule [imposed] copayments upon pregnant women in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1396c (a)(2)(B) and health maintenance organization enrollees in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1396o (a)(2)(D).
(6) [Declare] that Defendants’ final rule [failed] to provide Medicaid recipients the hearing rights to which they are entitled pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 431.220(a)(2) and due process.
(7) [Declare] that Defendants’ final rule [conditioned] the hearing rights of Medicaid recipients upon their filing a request for reconsideration to the county welfare department, without providing those requirements of the hearing system mandated by 42 C.F.R. §§ 431.205, 431.232, 431.233, and 431.242 and due process.
(8) [Declare] that Defendants’ final rule [failed] to provide Medicaid recipients notice of their right to a hearing at the time required by 42 C.F.R. § 431.206 and due process.
(9) [Declare] that Defendants’ final rule [failed] to continue medical services to Medicaid recipients during the hearing process as required by 42 C.F.R. § 431.230 and due process.
(10) [Declare] that Defendants’ final rule [failed] to provide Medicaid recipients adequate notice of the hearings to which they are entitled by 42 C.F.R. §§ 431.206 and 431.210 and due process.
(11) [Declare] that Defendants’ final rule [imposed] copayments on recipients of Room and Board Assistance or Assistance to Residents in County Homes in violation of I.C.

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Related

CLAUS BY CLAUS v. Goshert
657 F. Supp. 237 (N.D. Indiana, 1987)

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Bluebook (online)
657 F. Supp. 237, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/claus-ex-rel-claus-v-goshert-innd-1987.