P&A Class Action Litigation
Class action lawsuits have closed many ICFs/IID and reduced options for those who need fulltime care
Federally-funded attorney groups have pursued at least 30 class action lawsuits against ICFs/IID, driven primarily by a bias against ICF/IID care. In fact, since 1996, every federally-funded lawsuit against an ICF/IID has been for the primary purpose of removing residents from their ICF/IID home (“community integration”); the condition of care at the targeted ICFs/IID was not at issue in any of these cases.
Fifteen of these cases have led to the closure of ICFs/IID, affecting thousands of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Despite the fact that ICFs/IID are a residential option created by federal law and funded and monitored by HHS, most of these lawsuits are filed under the Protection & Advocacy (P&A) program, whose lawyers are also funded by HHS. Because one program authorized by HHS is suing another program authorized by HHS, these suits could be labelled HHS v. HHS.
