Hear about the successes and challenges of our young coalition.
Talk about what should happen next.

Evening Edition Zoom Meeting @ 7 PM

Time: Jan 23, 2025 7 PM Eastern Time

Please pre-register, so we know how many to expect: click here

There will be two sessions on Thursday January 23rd.
This one at 7pm, and an earlier one at Noon. All are welcome!

Good News: A family wins in court
In December a judge issued a favorable ruling in an Article 78 case that a family brought after their Community Class was denied by OPWDD. The judge firmly rejected OPWDD's arguments that there was no denial of services and that the decision made by the Fiscal Intermediary had nothing to do with OPWDD. Key excerpts: 

• "The petitioner's application for reimbursement was being treated in a different manner [than other Self Direction participants who did receive Medicaid reimbursement for the same classes]. That would seem to be the very definition of 'arbitrary and capricious' conduct."

• "It appears that OPWDD deprived the petitioners of their right to notice, and a fair hearing as required when an agency discontinues, suspends, or reduces a Medicaid recipient's benefits or services." 

Good News: OPWDD concedes in court that people have the right to a Fair Hearing
In another Article 78 case about Community Classes, the lawyer for OPWDD argued in a procedural hearing that there is a right to a Fair Hearing, and that the judges should not hear the Article 78 case because there has not yet been a second Fair Hearing.

There is a great deal of hypocrisy here, since at the first Fair Hearing for this case, OPWDD had argued that there is no right to a Fair Hearing. We are waiting to hear the result of the Article 78 procedural hearing, and of the Article 78 case itself. 

• OPWDD's lawyer said, at the procedural hearing, which was public and recorded:
  "OTDA... runs the Fair Hearing process. They determined that there was jurisdiction to resolve this reimbursement in this case... OPWDD and DoH are committed to following those jurisdictional decisions [that there is a right to a Fair Hearing]." 

The OPWDD lawyer was careful to repeatedly use the phrase "in this case," only conceding the right to a Fair Hearing in this specific instance. Therefore, in all Community Class cases going forward, when OPWDD attempts to argue that there is no right to a Fair Hearing, you will want to challenge them to explain to the Administrative Law Judge the (nonexistent) difference between your case and "this case."