Lawyers File Additional Complaints in Texas Medicaid Class Action Suit

Plaintiffs "accusing" Texas of providing inadequate care to children enrolled in the state's Medicaid program have added two new charges to their suit, alleging that the state has not enrolled enough dentists in the Medicaid program and that "ill children are not treated in a reasonable amount of time as federal law requires," the Associated Press reports. Lawyer Susan Zinn filed the new complaints in the class-action lawsuit Jan. 3 in U.S. District Court in Tyler, Texas, under Judge William Justice. Currently, the state is appealing Justice's August ruling that the state had failed to provide adequate dental care, regular check ups, transportation and information about services for Medicaid children, "despite a 1996 agreement in which the state had promised to make major improvements" in the program. Ed Cloutman, another plaintiffs' attorney, said, "Some parents are having to take their children 150 miles to find a dentist who takes Medicaid." According to the Associated Press, Justice will hold a hearing to determine whether the new complaints can be inserted in the original lawsuit Associated Press, 1/3).