California Residents File Suit Against State Agencies for Delaying the Processing of Disability-Based Medi-Cal Applications
Legal Services E-lert
Bibliographic Info:
On October 10, 2006, three California residents filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against the states Department of Health Services and Department of Social Services, claiming that the state repeatedly takes more than 90 days, the time allowed by law, to process disability-based Medi-Cal applications. The suit seeks an injunction requiring the state to meet the 90-day deadline and to develop a procedure that would ensure that applications beyond the 90-day period are processed in a timely manner. A study by Health Advocate, Inc. that examined 2,188 Medi-Cal disability applications filed in 2005 found that none of the applications were processed within 90 days. The same study demonstrated that the average waiting time for a Medi-Cal disability application to be processed was 226 days. The plaintiffs are represented by LSC-funded Bay Area Legal Aid, The Western Center on Law and Poverty, and Protection and Advocacy, Inc. The Department of Health Services and the Department of Social Services are reviewing the lawsuit, but have not issued a response.