Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals sued over cost-cutting that parents say threatens disabled son with epilepsy

From The AP:

BATON ROUGE, La. — The parents of a developmentally disabled man sued the state Department of Health and Hospitals, saying cost-cutting moves threaten the health of their son, who suffers from epileptic seizures.

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 9 in Baton Rouge federal court, says planned cuts to the round-the-clock, at-home care received by Bryan Stein, 38, will force Stein into an institution and would harm his health.

The civil rights suit targets a DHH budget-cutting initiative in the Medicaid program called the New Opportunities Waiver, or NOW waiver, that provides home- and community-based services to the developmentally disabled.

DHH is reviewing the type of care given to the thousands of people in the waiver program and determining whether the staffing levels are too high.

The department proposes cutting Stein's care at his Franklinton home from 24 hours a day, to about three to seven hours a day. The lawsuit says Stein needs more supervision than that type of service cut would provide because his seizures can't be predicted.

"He has about 15 to 20 seizures per month. His seizures are accompanied by screaming, hitting his head on the wall or turning himself in circles or other behavioral manifestations which are dangerous. The seizures cause him to rapidly fall, with a consequent risk of serious injury to him," says the lawsuit, which was filed by Stein's parents, Robert and Melanie Stein.

The lawsuit alleges the method DHH is using to decide the care needed by those in the NOW waiver program is arbitrary and included false information in Stein's assessment.

DHH didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit Feb. 10.

Stein lived in a state-run institution in Hammond for 22 years before getting into the Medicaid waiver program, which is funded with a mix of state and federal dollars. The lawsuit claims Stein was abused and repeatedly injured during his time at the institution.

Stein is seeking to stop any changes to the level of care he receives in the NOW waiver program. The lawsuit was filed against the secretary of DHH, the director of the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities within DHH, and the organization and person who did Stein's assessment and determined the changes in care Stein would receive.