May Nursing Homes Seek Declaratory Relief To Challenge State Medicaid Reimbursement Rate?
The Ohio Academy of Nursing Homes et al. v. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services et al. Case no. 2006-0275 10th District Court of Appeals (Franklin County) ISSUE: When the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services has denied a petition by nursing homes to increase the state’s per-diem Medicaid reimbursement rate for nursing home patients to cover an increase in state workers’ compensation premiums, is mandamus the only relief available to the nursing homes, or may they pursue a declaratory judgment and injunction in common pleas court to enforce a state law that requires the Department to adjust its reimbursement rate to cover cost increases resulting from “government mandates?” BACKGROUND: This case involves a dispute between the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services (ODJFS), the state agency that administers Ohio’s Medicaid program, and the Ohio Academy of Nursing Homes (OANH), a trade association which represents 250 operators of nursing homes for the elderly and interme
