Brown v. South Carolina Department of Health & Human Services

In this case we determine that the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has jurisdiction to decide an appeal from the termination of Medicaid waiver services. We reverse DHHS’s and the Administrative Law Court’s decisions to the contrary and remand for a hearing on the merits.

I. Facts and Medicaid Background

Peter Brown is a forty-three-year-old Medicaid recipient with mental retardation. He has related disabilities of epilepsy and diabetes. His IQ is 44, and his psychological evaluation places him at the juncture between the mild and moderate levels of mental…