Posted on: Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Disabled win $7 million settlement
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
About 200 Hawai'i residents with disabilities will receive $7 million from the state, officials announced yesterday, in a settlement of a class-action lawsuit over healthcare benefits.
That means Richard K. Lovell of Kapa'a may finally be able to get his teeth fixed, others will have access to healthcare, and "They're going to think before they turn 'em down," said Lovell, 64.
The dispute stemmed from changes the state made to its Medicaid program in 1994.
Hawai'i secured a waiver from federal Medicaid regulations and created its own managed-care program for low-income families, called QUEST. But when the state began the program, it excluded about 32,000 elderly, blind and disabled clients who had been in Medicaid.
Shelby Anne Floyd, lead attorney for Lovell and others who sued in November 1995, said excluding the disabled seemed a blatant case of discrimination. "It just seemed so wrong from the beginning," she said.
She estimated that the amount paid out to people denied coverage would range from $1,000 to more than $100,000 "to reimburse them for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, as well as pay for damages."
Lovell said he lost seven teeth after the state turned him down for dental coverage under QUEST. Lovell has a vision disability.
When his mouth became swollen and some teeth needed to be pulled, he said, he paid for what care he could and was fortunate to find a dentist who helped with some of the more critical problems.
He also received assistance from the Ho'ola Lahui program, which provides care to people of Hawaiian ancestry.
"I ate a lot of soft food," Lovell said. "Right now I'm not suffering as much." He hopes to get a bridge to help him chew after losing his back teeth.
Lovell said he's pleased by the legal settlement and hopes the state will provide coverage to more people.
State Attorney General Mark Bennett praised the team of deputy attorneys general who worked on the cases for years. "This settlement is, I believe, in the best interests of both the state of Hawai'i and the plaintiffs," he said.
Floyd praised Gov. Linda Lingle for getting involved in reaching a fair settlement. "We are pleased that the state has acknowledged its responsibility for not giving the disabled the same benefits it gave to other Hawai'i residents," Floyd said.
The Legislature will be asked to pay for the settlement agreement as part of a bill now before lawmakers.
The attorneys said the settlement ends a series of cases in which federal courts held the state liable for discrimination against the disabled.
It follows the Jan. 13 refusal by the U.S. Supreme Court to review a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of four Hawai'i residents who were denied QUEST medical and dental benefits.
