County of Wayne issued the following announcement on Dec. 2.
To Persons Who Have Had Or May In The Future Have Their
Medicaid Benefits Terminated Or Reduced In North Carolina:
Proposed Settlement Of Franklin Et Al. V. Kinsley.
United States District Court – Eastern District of North Carolina
Case No.: 5:17-CV-581
Franklin et al. v. Kinsley, formerly known as Hawkins et al. v. Cohen, is a federal lawsuit
filed in 2017. This case was certified by the Court as a class action lawsuit on behalf of
N.C. Medicaid beneficiaries.
In this lawsuit, the Plaintiffs allege that the N.C. Medicaid agency, along with county
Departments of Social Services (DSS), was terminating and reducing Medicaid benefits
without considering eligibility under all Medicaid categories and without first providing
timely and adequate written notice, in violation of federal Medicaid statute and the U.S.
Constitution. The Defendant denied those allegations.
The named Plaintiffs and the Defendant have reached a Settlement Agreement to resolve
the lawsuit. In reaching the Settlement Agreement, the Defendant has not admitted any
wrongdoing, but has agreed to modify the procedures, forms, and notices for
redetermining Medicaid eligibility. The Court plans to approve the Settlement Agreement
unless a good reason is given not to do so. The Settlement Agreement includes detailed
descriptions of the steps that have been or will be taken to:
• Assure that Medicaid does not stop without notice because the county DSS has
not timely redetermined Medicaid eligibility;
• Assure that all categories of Medicaid eligibility are considered before
termination or reduction of Medicaid;
• Assure that persons receiving Medicaid in other categories are given an
opportunity to have their eligibility as a disabled person considered prior to
termination or reduction of their Medicaid benefits;
• Assure compliance with all federal regulations governing the Medicaid eligibility
process;
• Assure that the written notice provided before Medicaid is reduced or terminated
clearly and specifically states what action will be taken and the reason for that
action;
• Assure that all county DSSs comply with the provisions of the agreement.
The members of the class who would be bound by the settlement include all current or
future North Carolina Medicaid recipients for whom Defendant or county DSSs reduced
or terminated Medicaid benefits without following the procedures set out above.
RIGHT TO OBJECT: Any class member has the right to object to this proposed
Settlement Agreement; however, a class member does not have the ability to exclude
himself or herself from being bound by the settlement if it is approved.
You may review the proposed Settlement Agreement by visiting the Civil Clerk's office
at 413 Middle Street, New Bern, NC 28560. The Settlement Agreement is also available
at the following websites:
www.healthlaw.org/Franklinsettlement;
www.charlottelegaladvocacy.org/Franklinsettlement.
You may file written objections to the dismissal by mailing your reasons for objection to
the Clerk of Court at the above address no later than December 31, 2022. If you wish to
file evidence to support your objections, you must file the evidence in writing by that
date.
You also have the right to object to the Settlement Agreement in person at a hearing
that will be held at 11:00 a.m. on January 13, 2023. The hearing will take place at the
United States District Court, 413 Middle Street, New Bern, NC 28560.
Original source can be found here.
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