Res-Care Sues New Mexico State Agencies
Posted by sunce on September 8th, 2008
Res-Care, an international human service company, which provides job training and educational support to people with developmental and other disabilities, has announced its intention to collect over $8 million it is claiming from the New Mexico departments of Health, Human Resources and Children, Youth and Families, for canceling its contract with the company in 2006.
The company, which claims it has been providing services to New Mexico’s developmentally disabled for more than ten years, filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque the end of July this year.
Res-Care, which is based I Louisville, Ky., and operates in 37 states across the nation, claims that it was paid $15.3 million for services rendered in 2005.
Concurrently, the company is being sued in 2 separate law cases stemming from allegations of inadequate care and staffing. In one case, the guardian of a disabled man claims that a staff member of the company sold the person methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a very addictive stimulant drug that affects the central nervous system. It is a Schedule II stimulant, which means it has a high potential for abuse and is available only through a prescription that cannot be refilled. When this incident was discovered, the state promptly cancelled Res –Care’s provider agreement in July of ’06 and moved clients to other care providing companies.
Res-Care’s lawsuit claims the following:
1. The contract was ended without due process;
2. Under state and federal law, in the event a Medicaid provider is ended without cause, that provider is entitled to receive notice of what the state claims the company did wrong, and is entitled to an administrative hearing giving the provider the opportunity to present witnesses in its defense, to question and cross-examine witnesses. The company is then entitled to appeal to a state district court in the event that the administrative court finds against them;
3. The letters of termination of service issued by the state did not contain notice of the company’s entitlement to an administrative appeal;
4. The state failed to pay $5 million in services es-Care provided and $3 million for costs incurred in connection to the cancellation of the work contract.
Res –Care has been operating under contract since 1994 until the time the contracts were terminated. It is claiming reimbursement for providing care to its clients. These clients include individuals with mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
