A divided Indiana Supreme Court declined to accept a case asking whether Medicaid rejected applicants can include information on appeal that wasn’t included in their initial applications.

The justices voted 3-2 on March 4 not to grant transfer in the case of Anne Waltermann Murphy, et al. v. William Curtis, et al., No. 49A04-0909-CV-503. The three voting to deny transfer were Chief Justice Randall Shepard and Justices Steve David and Brent Dickson, while Justices Frank Sullivan and Robert Rucker voted to grant the petition.

With the denial, the court leaves in place a July 21 decision by the Indiana Court of Appeals that reversed a Marion Superior judge’s decision in favor of Anne Waltermann Murphy of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and Patricia Casanova of the FSSA Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning.

Plaintiffs attorneys expressed concern that applicants are uncertain about what is needed for successful applications and what kind of information should be included, while state attorneys argued that applicants often have someone who is able to provide information to help with applications.

Rehearing: "Facing 'tremendous hurdles'"? IL Sept. 29-Oct. 12, 2010