Anderson v. Ghaly

The Ninth Circuit vacated the district court's dismissal with prejudice of a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action brought by three former nursing home residents and a nonprofit advocacy group who alleged that the residents were subjected to unlawful "dumping."The panel held that nursing home residents may challenge, under 42 U.S.C. 1983, a state's violation of the Medicaid Act's requirement that states participating in Medicaid provide for a fair mechanism for hearing appeals on transfers and discharges of residents of nursing homes covered by Medicaid. Applying the Blessing factors, the panel held that the provisions in the Federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments (FNHRA) created a statutory right enforceable under section 1983. However, the present complaint did not allege a plausible violation of the FNHRA appeals provision as the panel has constructed it, but dismissal with prejudice and without leave to amend was not appropriate unless it was clear on de novo review that the complaint could not be saved by amendment. Because the residents' failure to state a claim could perhaps be cured by repleading, the panel remanded for further proceedings. View "Anderson v. Ghaly" on Justia Law