Low-income adults with disabilities who struggle to find the money to pay for medically necessary incontinence briefs may find one of life's burdens lifted through a class action lawsuit filed September 30, 2009.
The 9 plaintiffs in the case are age 21 and over who are incontinent as the result of their disabilities. Each plaintiff's doctor has prescribed incontinence briefs to prevent skin breakdown and infection and to allow the person to participate in community, social, educational, and therapeutic activities, such as day treatment programs, which require attendees who are incontinent to wear briefs. However, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), denied coverage of the briefs for all the plaintiffs, and reportedly overturned favorable administrative decisions in 2 cases where the Plaintiffs appealed.
In addition to the Medicaid violations, the lawsuit reportedly says that Arizona's policy of covering preventative incontinence briefs for people living in institutions, like nursing homes, but not for those living in the community, illegally discriminates against people with disabilities and violates the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.
