Jones v. The Department of Public Aid

              Nos. 3-05-0550, 3-05-0906 (consol.)
______________________________________________________________________________
Filed May 1, 2007.
IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
THIRD DISTRICT
A.D., 2007
MICHAEL H. JONES, )
)
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court
) for the 14th Judicial Circuit,
v. ) Whiteside County, Illinois
)
THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC )
AID n/k/a The IL Department of )
Healthcare and Family ) No. 2005-MR-37
Services; BARRY S. MARAM, )
Director, or His Successor, in His Official )
Capacity; THE IL DEPARTMENT OF ) Honorable Vicki R. Wright
HUMAN SERVICES; and CAROL L.) Judge, Presiding
ADAMS, Secretary, or Her Successor,)
in Her Official Capacity, ))
Defendants-Appellants. )
______________________________________________________________________________
JUSTICE O’BRIEN delivered the opinion of the court:
______________________________________________________________________________
In 1991, plaintiff Michael Jones suffered a severe spinal cord injury when he was seven years
old. Until the time he was 21 years old, Michael received in-home around-the-clock nursing care
funded through a Medicaid waiver program administered by the defendant Illinois Department of
Healthcare and Family Services (the Department) (formerly known as the Illinois Department of Public
Aid) . Michael’s eligibility under the Medically Fragile/Technology Dependent (MF/TD) home service
program lapsed when he turned 21 years of age. 89 Ill. Adm. Code §120.530, added at 28 Ill. Reg
13760 (eff. October 1, 2004) (the Code). Thereafter, the Department provided for Michael’s care
through a different Medicaid waiver program that, as applied to Michael, considerably reduced the