Regional Center for Independent Living joins consumers in Medicaid lawsuit

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The Rochester-based Regional Center for Independent Living joined the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled and a group of Disabled individuals in a lawsuit to delay the transition of almost 290,000 Disabled Medicaid beneficiaries into a single statewide fiscal intermediary, Public Partnerships LLC (PPL).

The filing, submitted in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent the state from staying the course with the current deadline to transition to the new administrative system with PPL and at least a six-month extension for Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program participants to make the transfer to PPL.

RCIL and the other plaintiffs are being represented by attorneys from the New York Legal Assistance Group and Patterson Belknap.

Advocates maintain that the fast-tracked PPL transition would devastate access to in-home care for people with disabilities and older adults who rely on CDPAP to lead safe, dignified lives in their own communities, in violation of the 14th Amendment and the Medicaid Act.

“We are gravely concerned for the wellbeing of our members who will find themselves without the homecare services that keep them independent and safe,” said Brooke Erickson, vice president of Direct Services at the Regional Center for Independent Living.

The Regional Center for RCIL is a disability-led membership organization with over 5,500 members throughout New York State. Most of its members rely on Medicaid Home and Community Based Services or home care services.

The Regional Center for RCIL is a disability-led membership organization with over 5,500 members throughout New York State. Most of its members rely on Medicaid Home and Community Based Services or home care services.

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