 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 
|
|
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Bar News - February 6, 2004 State, NHLA Settle Dental Medicaid Suit By: Deborah A. Fauver LOW-INCOME children in New Hampshire will get better access to dental services following the approval of a 30-page class action consent decree in U.S. District Court in Concord late last month. Lawyers on both sides of the case say the decree clarifies existing Medicaid rules and makes New Hampshire’s implementation of that federal program unique. The decree requires that the state pay an additional $1.2 million for the Medicaid dental program, substantially increasing the dental reimbursement rates, and also sets out detailed guidelines for state workers implementing the program. Attorneys for New Hampshire Legal Assistance filed the case against the Commissioner of the NH Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in March of 1999 on behalf of several mothers who alleged that they couldn’t get dental care for their children until their teeth had become so decayed that emergency room extraction was the only available remedy. The chief allegation was that state Medicaid reimbursement rates were so low that many dentists wouldn’t take Medicaid patients. Further, the mothers alleged that the department neglected its Medicaid-imposed duties to notify eligible families of their right to dental care, and to ensure that the families in fact received that care. "We are very pleased with the decree, and expect that it will usher in a period of rapid improvement in the state’s Medicaid dental program for children," said NHLA staff attorney Kay Drought. The state had vigorously contested the factual allegations, arguing that the named plaintiffs did in fact find dentists to see their children, often with help from DHHS. A dozen affirmative defenses were set out, ranging from challenges to the plaintiff’s interpretation of the Medicaid Act, to governmental immunities, to comparative fault. "There is also a broader issue of the shortage of dentists and dental hygienists," said Senior Assistant Attorney General Nancy J. Smith. "A rate increase won’t solve that problem." But Smith did say that two rounds of rate increases implemented last fall have had positive results in the number of participating dentists here in New Hampshire. In approving the consent decree, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph A. DiClerico, Jr., noted that more than two years of extensive discovery had been conducted, "including over 30 depositions and tens of thousands of pages of transcripts." An additional two years of settlement negotiations resulted in the 30-page consent decree filed with the court last fall. Attorneys for both sides expressed thanks to Concord attorney Russell Hilliard, who donated 18 days of mediation services. See Cassandra Hawkins, et al. v. Commissioner of the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services, Docket No. CV-99- 143-JD, US District Court for the District of N. H. (1/23/04). Deborah Fauver, an inactive member of the NH Bar, is an experienced legal writer and a former member of the NHBA Publications Committee. She will be contributing regularly to Bar News. Last month, she wrote an extensive history of the NHBA Pro Bono Pro gram for Bar Journal. An upcoming issue of Bar News will feature a behind-the-scenes look at this case, including the extensive pre-trial discovery work undertaken by NHLA utilizing several experienced attorneys in private practice who volunteered their complex litigation expertise to NHLA.
|
|
Home | About the Bar | For Members | For the Public | Legal Links | Publications | Online Store New Hampshire Bar Association |
