Lancaster County District Court Rejects State's Partial Dismissal Bid in interRAI Disability Assessment Case: Lawsuit Proceeds
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska — A Lancaster County District Court, in an October 29 order, rejected the state's motion to partially dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Department of Health and Human Services' use of the interRAI assessment system to determine funding for people with disabilities, allowing the case to proceed. Legal Aid of Nebraska publicized the ruling on October 30.
Legal Aid of Nebraska filed the suit on behalf of Nicholas Bessey, joined by Nebraska Appleseed, the National Health Law Program and TechTonic Justice. The case challenges the state's use of interRAI to determine funding for Medicaid home- and community-based services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The court concluded the case is not the unusual one in which the allegations reveal an "insuperable bar to relief," denied the state's request to dismiss six of Bessey's claims, and lifted a stay previously imposed on the remaining claims.
The ruling does not decide the merits. It means Bessey may continue pursuing his claims that the state's assessment and funding process violates constitutional due process, the Nebraska Administrative Procedure Act and the Developmental Disabilities Services Act. The case now moves toward substantive proceedings, and whether the assessment system changes will directly affect the many Nebraskans who depend on home- and community-based services.
Source: GSM America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Nebraska State Capitol, Lincoln, NE (cropped)。来源：Wikimedia Commons（Nanilluc，CC BY-SA 4.0）
