Oklahoma May Violate the ADA by Imposing a Five-Prescription Per Month Cap on Medicaid Recipients Receiving Services at Home

Fisher v. Oklahoma Health Care Auth., 335 F.3d 1175 (10th Cir. 2003); 72(4) U.S. Law Week 1056 (Aug. 5, 2003)

Oklahoma may be violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by imposing a five­ prescription per month cap on Medicaid recipients who receive their state-funded services at home rather than in a nursing facility.  Oklahoma, as part of an optional federal Medicaid waiver program in which it participates, allows individuals who meet the level of care required for institutionalization in a nursing facility to live at home and receive state-funded medical care.  Until September 2002, participants were entitled to an unlimited number of state-paid medically necessary prescriptions.  At that point, responding to a budgetary shortfall, the cap was put into operation, although patients in nursing facilities continued to receive unlimited prescriptions.  The state anticipated that capping the number of prescriptions available would save the state $3.2 million...

Found in DMHL Volume 23 Issue 1