Federal Court Bars North Carolina Medicaid From Restricting In-Home Services

A federal court in North Carolina has granted a preliminary injunction barring the state from implementing a new rule that would restrict in-home personal care services covered by Medicaid. The court ruled that the changes put recipients at risk of “serious physical or mental injury or forced entry into institutional settings.” Plaintiffs challenging the new requirements presented evidence that the rules were much more stringent than those covering recipients living in adult care homes. They claimed this constituted illegal, disparate treatment.