Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Families of Disabled Kids Sue Illinois Over Care Cutbacks

The state Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which administers Medicaid, is being sued over a plan to stop paying for disabled children's nursing care.

Illinois Medicaid plans to stop paying for skilled nursing for more than 100 children with complex medical needs, eliminating services that help keep them alive in an effort to save money, according to a newly filed federal lawsuit.

 

Many of the children have received years of care from registered and licensed practical nurses who help them eat, breathe and perform basic bodily functions, said Robert Farley, a Naperville attorney who filed the suit.

But in recent months the state notified families of 118 children that those services would be eliminated, according to the suit. Another 57 families learned services would be reduced, and just three families were told services would stay the same, it states.

The lawsuit contends the state lacks medical justification for the changes and that the reductions violate federal laws that ensure Medicaid patients receive medically necessary care.

 

 

Daniel Luzer is GOVERNING's news editor.
Special Projects