Plaintiffs v Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS)
Federal Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
Arizona Center for Disability Law (ACDL) filed a class action lawsuit against the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), on behalf of low-income adults with disabilities who struggle to find the money to pay for medically necessary incontinence briefs.
AHCCCS is Arizona's Medicaid program which has a regulation and policy that bars coverage of incontinence briefs to prevent skin breakdown and infection for adults age twenty-one and over. The lawsuit is aimed at overturning the regulation and policy were adults only receive coverage for incontinence briefs if they have an existing skin breakdown and infection. AHCCCS covers preventative incontinence briefs for children between the ages of three and twenty-one.
The lawsuit also states that Arizona's policy of covering preventative incontinence briefs for people living in institutions, like nursing homes, but not for those living in the community, illegally discriminates against people with disabilities by violating the integration mandated of the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to ACDL, people should not have to go to a nursing home to receive Medicaid covered services.
The failure of AHCCCS to cover these preventative medical supplies means that people with disabilities and their guardians must choose between buying briefs or paying for other necessary living expenses, like food, housing, clothing, and medical services not covered by AHCCCS, like dental care. At costs between $100 to $300 per month, incontinence briefs can account for up to half of the monthly income of a person with a disability.
For more information please contact:
Jennifer L. Nye
100 N Stone Ave Suite 305
Tucson, AZ 85701
520 388-5550
