Ohio Long Term Care Providers Sue State Agencies Over Medicaid Payment Formulas
Ohio’s largest organization representing long-term care providers today filed a class action lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and the Ohio Department of Health. The lawsuit by the Ohio Health Care Association (OHCA) and several association members asserts that provisions of the recently passed biennial budget bill violate federal and state law.
“We must stand up for our members and protest some of the things that the budget bill does,” said Peter Van Runkle, OHCA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “There are provisions in the bill that inappropriately penalize people who are trying to provide quality care to Ohio’s seniors,” he added.
The suit (Ohio Health Care Association, et al. v. Barbara Riley, Director, et al), which was filed in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, takes aim at a new formula for Medicaid payments to nursing homes being implemented by ODJFS. “The new price-based system does not take adequate account of capital expenditures that providers need to make so residents can have safe, pleasant living environments and to comply with ever-increasing building regulations,” said Mr. Van Runkle. OHCA’s lawsuit points out that the state did not follow the requirements of federal law when it adopted the new pricing system.