State Officials Settle Lawsuit to Keep Disabled Out of Nursing Homes

Louisiana health officials will ask the federal government for 200 waivers that would allow disabled Medicaid recipients to receive long-term personal care services, according to the terms of a settlement.

In 2010, Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals put a 32-hour per week cap on the number of hours that disabled individuals could receive personal care services. A class action lawsuit brought by Medicaid beneficiaries argued that the limit violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and could force elderly and disabled people into nursing homes, the Associated Press reported.