LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) A judge has ordered the state of Arkansas to stop using a formula resulting in reduced home-based care for thousands of Medicaid recipients with disabilities.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen gave the ruling Monday in a lawsuit by Legal Aid of Arkansas. The ruling found that the state Department of Human Services didn’t provide adequate public notice before using an algorithm in 2016 to allocate hours of help for about 8,000 Medicaid recipients. Nurses previously awarded hours.
Griffen’s order bans the department from using the algorithm until it announces rules for it under a state law allowing the adoption of some rules on an emergency basis.
The department says it plans to adopt an emergency rule. Legal Aid says it would seek an order to block such a rule.
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