Facts: Respondent Samantha A., a child who suffers from a host of medical problems and receives in home Medicaid personal care, filed suit against the petitioner Department of Social and Health Services in the Superior Court for Thurston County, asserting that Washington Administrative Code §388-106-0213, which provides for automatic reductions in the number of hours of Medicaid personal care received by children based upon their age and whether or not they live with their parents, violates 42 U.S.C. §1396a(a)(10)(B)(i)’s Medicaid comparability requirements. The trial court ruled for Samantha A. Upon appeal, the Washington Court of Appeals transferred the case to the Supreme Court of Washington.

Question(s): Does §388-106-0213 violate Medicaid comparability requirements?

Conclusion: Justice Charles W. Johnson’s opinion for the Court affirmed the trial court, concluding that §388-106-0213 violates Medicaid comparability requirements by reducing benefits on the basis of considerations other than recipients’ actual need and by failing to consider whether a child’s needs will continue to be met after the reduction.

Docket No. 84325-2 (from Thurston Case No. 07-2-02555-1)

Petitioner: Department of Social and Health Services

(Counsel: William Bruce Work and Edward J. Dee)

Respondent: Samantha A.

(Counsel: Regan Bailey, Susan L. Kas, and Eleanor Hamburger)

Briefs:

Argument: Tuesday, November 9, 2010 9:00am

[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]

Decided: Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Prevailing Party: Samantha A. (Respondent)

Vote: 5-4

Citation: Pending

Court: Madsen1 Court (2010-2011)

Madsen
(Dissent)

Johnson
(Majority)

Alexander

Sanders

Chambers

Owens

Fairhurst

Johnson

Stephens
(Dissent)