Tiffany Romano v. Bruce Greenstein

PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:

This appeal turns on whether 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(8) — a provision of the Medicaid Act — creates a right that is enforceable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and, if so, whether a Medicaid claimant must exhaust Louisiana’s procedure for judicial review before filing suit in federal court. We conclude that § 1396a(a)(8) creates a right enforceable under § 1983, and that exhaustion of Louisiana’s procedure for judicial review is not required before a Medicaid claimant files suit in federal court.

I

“Medicaid is a cooperative federal-state program through which the…