Jennifer Nye Press Statement

Arizona Center for Disability Law

Press Statement

June 22, 2005

Jennifer L. Nye

Staff Attorney

Arizona Center for Disability law

Good morning. My name is Jennifer Nye and I am a staff attorney at the Arizona Center for Disability Law. I would like to thank you for joining us. Today in federal court, the Arizona Center for Disability Law filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Medicaid eligible children under age 21 who are incontinent due to their disabilities. The goal of this lawsuit is to make sure that children with disabilities enrolled in Arizona’s Medicaid program, AHCCCS, get the medically necessary incontinence briefs to which they are entitled under federal law.

Currently, AHCCCS will cover incontinence briefs only if the child has skin breakdown, sores, or infections, but not for preventative purposes. All of the children in this class would suffer skin breakdown and risk infection if they sat in soiled and wet undergarments. Incontinence briefs are not only necessary to maintain the health of these children, but also necessary to allow them to fully participate in school and community life, much as wheelchairs allow people with mobility impairments to be active participants in society.

The AHCCCS policy denying incontinence briefs for preventative purposes means that parents are faced with an impossible choice. They can purchase the briefs themselves, often at significant financial cost. Or they can not purchase the briefs and place their children in harms way–physically, emotionally, and socially. No parent should have to make this choice, particularly since, as approximately 40 other states have recognized, incontinence briefs are a covered medical supply under the federal Medicaid Act.

But this lawsuit is more than just about what AHCCCS is legally mandated to do. Ultimately, this lawsuit is about the lives of children with disabilities. Will they be lives of inclusion or lives of segregation?

Will children with disabilities, like our Plaintiffs Richard Harris and Caitlin Hoel, be able to go to school and participate fully without the scorn of peers? Not without incontinence briefs. Will children like our Plaintiff Nicholas Igras be able to go out to eat at a restaurant with his parents and brother and sister? Not without incontinence briefs. Will children and youth like our Plaintiff Kristina Richardson be able to take part in community activities, such as Special Olympics? Not without incontinence briefs. Will children with disabilities be able to experience the daily dignity that all of us takes for granted each day? Not without incontinence briefs.

So ultimately, this lawsuit is not only asking AHCCCS to do the legal thing, but more importantly, to do the right thing–cover incontinence briefs for children so that they can live the lives of inclusion to which all children are entitled.

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