National class action for Medicaid eligible children for blood lead testing
During the EPA emergency lead soil remediation that took place in West Dallas, Daniel & Beshara represented a national class of Medicaid eligible children six years old and under seeking appropriate blood lead tests for screening for lead in their blood. For many years the RSR lead smelter emitted lead into the air and lead slag from the smelter was buried and scattered throughout the surrounding Black and Hispanic community in West Dallas. Even though young children are particularly vulnerable to exposure to lead, the state of Texas allowed Medicaid providers to use other screening tests in place of a blood lead test to detect the presence of lead in a child. These other screening tests did not detect the presence of lead but rather was a possible indicator of iron deficiency. The Medicaid Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic & Testing (EPSDT) statute requires the use of a blood lead test for children. One class representative was a grandmother whose grandchildren had elevated blood lead levels that had gone undetected because. the children’s Medicaid EPSDT provider had used a screening test that did not detect for blood lead levels. The iron deficiency test that did not test for lead was used to determine that these children did not have elevated blood lead levels. It was only after the City had provided lead screening tests that the elevated blood lead levels had been detected.
The lawsuit successfully obtained national relief for states and Medicaid providers to use blood lead testing to screen children for the presence of lead. Thompson ex rel. v. Raiford, et al., 1993 WL 497232 (N.D. Tex.1993). Public health experts still credit the case for the nationwide adoption of the blood lead testing requirement.
In 1991, CDC strongly recommended screening by blood lead testing for virtually all children aged 1 to 5 years and that all children younger than 2 years be screened at least once.10 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) adopted these universal screening requirements for children receiving program benefits as part of a 1993 settlement of a nationwide class action lawsuit charging the federal government with failing to implement the Medicaid Act’s requirement for appropriate lead testing.11
n.11. Thompson v Raiford, No. 3:92-CV-1539-R, 1993 WL 497232, reprinted in Medicare & Medicaid Guide (CCH) & 41,776 (ND Tex, September 24, 1993).
Ettinger, Adrienne S. ScD, MPH, MS; Leonard, Monica L. MPH, REHS; Mason, Jacquelyn PhD, MS CDC's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program: A Long-standing Responsibility and Commitment to Protect Children From Lead Exposure, Journal of Public Health Management and Practice: January/February 2019 - Volume 25 - Issue - p S5-S12 doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000868
The opinion certifying a national class and approving the settlement is here.
Daniel & Beshara have extensive experience in class action lawsuits against cities, housing authorities, and the federal government.
