Arizona Patient Advocacy Groups File Lawsuit Against State Policy Barring Dialysis Coverage for Immigrants

Several patient advocacy groups on April 3 filed a legal challenge against a new state policy that could bar some legal and undocumented immigrants from receiving Medicaid coverage for dialysis treatment, the Arizona Daily Star reports. The lawsuit alleges that officials of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state's Medicaid program, violated federal policy by restricting Medicaid coverage of dialysis treatments for legal and undocumented immigrants. Arizona had covered the cost of the treatment for 159 immigrants through use of federal funds and a state emergency services program for individuals who do not qualify for Medicaid coverage (Salkowski, Arizona Daily Star, 4/5). However, under a guidelines clarification issued in November, dialysis and some other medical services now are considered treatments for chronic conditions and not emergencies. As a result, some immigrants had coverage for their treatments cut (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 12/21/01). The lawsuit, filed by the William E. Morris Institute for Justice, the Arizona Center for Disability Law and Southern Arizona Legal Aid, asks for a court order to force the state to cover "medically necessary dialysis treatments that otherwise meet the definition of emergency medical service" (Arizona Daily Star, 4/5). Logan Johnston, an AHCCCS attorney, said that the state "merely applied standards required by the federal Medicaid program" by changing its policy. He added, "If Arizona is acting improperly, so are 49 other states" (Associated Press, 4/5).