Baltimore City Circuit Court judge dismisses suit over MHIP

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jul 30, 2008 by Brendan Kearney

A judge has thrown out David Brooks' lawsuit against the Maryland Health Insurance Plan, agreeing with the state insurer of last resort that it afforded the Columbia man due process before terminating his coverage last November.

Brooks, a consultant and landlord who works in Washington, D.C., had sued MHIP in September after the agency determined he was not a Maryland resident and thus not eligible for coverage.

Thanks to court orders over the past two months and a concession by MHIP just before last week's trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court, Brooks has been recognized as a state resident and has been reinstated to the plan.

But questions about the process by which his insurance was revoked and whether he should be compensated for nearly $7,000 in out-of-pocket costs he incurred while he was not covered were put to Baltimore City Circuit Judge Albert J. Matricciani Jr.

"Considering the evidence reviewed in making the final eligibility determination, the multiple levels of appeal afforded the plaintiff, and the possible burden on MHIP of instituting more procedures, the Court is unconvinced that additional procedural safeguards are required," Matricciani wrote in granting MHIP's motion to dismiss the case.

Howard J. Schulman, who represented Brooks, called Matricciani's opinion "internally inconsistent."

Matriccian faulted Brooks for not filing a timely petition for administrative mandamus in the circuit court. According to Schulman, though, Brooks could not seek such review because he never received a "an opportunity to be heard live" before MHIP Executive Director Richard A. Popper's final decision.

Schulman also said that because Matricciani's opinion only addresses the due process claims of Brooks' complaint, not the breach of contract or common law mandamus counts, "we're still unclear if there's even a final judgment."

MHIP's motion argued those counts should be dismissed because Brooks had failed to file a timely petition for administrative mandamus.

Schulman said he would file a motion to alter or amend the judgment.