RI ACLU again sues state over UHIP, claiming problems with Medicaid

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The ACLU of Rhode Island has filed another class-action lawsuit against the state over failures of the problem plagued public-benefits computer system known as UHIP.

The latest lawsuit alleges that participants in the state's Medicaid program are not being given "proper notice" before being kicked out of the program. The lack of notice has led to loss of income for participants and put them "at risk of losing their homes and their utilities and deprives them of funds needed for their daily living expenses, including food," the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court states.

The problems surround the Medicaid Payment Program. Medicaid pays the cost of participation, including monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, for certain elderly or disabled individuals.

After UHIP's launch in September 2016, Rhode Island Legal Services began receiving calls from individuals who said they received notices from the Social Security Administration that the state had stopped paying their premiums and therefore, SSA deducted two months of premiums from their Social Security benefits. In each case, the individuals received no advance notice that their status in the Medicaid Payment Program would be terminated.

While the complaints were solved individually by the state Department of Human Services when brought to their attention, the lawsuit claims that the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services “has failed to fix the problem systematically and reinstate every individual whose [Medicaid Payment Program] benefits were terminated and ensure that each individual received all the retroactive benefits that were due.”

— jbogdan@providencejournal.com

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On Twitter: @JenniferBogdan