Three Maryland nursing homes have come up empty in their attempts to take state officials to court on behalf of their residents over Medicaid eligibility.
United States District Judge Paul Grimm last week decided to toss the claim, filed against Department of Human Services Secretary Lourdes Padilla and Department of Health Secretary Robert Niall. The providers alleged that state health officials failed to administer the state’s Medicaid program in accordance with federal law.
But Grimm chose to dismiss the claims Oct. 16, saying the officials were entitled to government immunity. In filing the lawsuit on behalf of three residents seeking Medicaid eligibility, the two nursing homes “have not properly alleged that defendants discriminated against the three patients on whose behalf this suit was brought,” he wrote.
Holly Hill Healthcare Center in Towson, MD, St. Mary’s Nursing Center in Leonardtown, MD, and the operator of Marley Neck Health & Rehabilitation Center in Glen Burnie, MD, first filed the suit on behalf of residents at their three facilities. They alleged that those individuals had encountered challenges in their attempts to secure Medicaid benefits through the state program. Officials at the nursing homes could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
