A lawsuit alleging Florida's Medicaid program violated federal laws by denying coverage for incontinence supplies for adults with disabilities can proceed as a class action case, the Orlando Sentinel reported April 10.
Florida's Medicaid program provides incontinence supplies for Medicaid beneficiaries under the age of 21 and for certain adults, such as those in nursing homes, according to the report. But the lawsuit, filed in July, alleges that the state stopped providing supplies to the two original plaintiffs in the case after they turned 21, despite being incontinent and unable to care for themselves.
The lawsuit alleges that Florida is violating federal Medicaid law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the report.
It is unclear how many people the case could affect, but U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard's decision cited one estimate that at least 480 Medicaid beneficiaries a year turn 21 and lose coverage for incontinence supplies that they received as children.
Florida argued that its Medicaid program operates under regulations approved by CMS, according to the report.