Nickles Files Court Action to Impose Receivership on ICF/MR  Provider of Medicaid Services to Persons With Intellectual Disability

Washington, DC—Today, Attorney General Peter J. Nickles announced that the Office of the Attorney General, with the assistance of the Department on Disability Services (DDS), the Department of Health (DOH), and the Department of Health Care Finance, filed in the DC Superior Court a complaint and petition for receivership to take over two local intermediate care facilities for persons with mental retardation (ICF/MR) operated by Individual Development, Inc. (IDI), a District of Columbia nonprofit corporation.
 
“The District of Columbia will not tolerate deficient practices by any ICF/MR provider, especially when they are tasked with providing necessary supports and services to some of our most vulnerable residents,” Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said. “We intend to hold them accountable for the services and supports District residents with intellectual disabilities deserve.”

Under local law, DDS provides supports and services to District residents with intellectual and other developmental disabilities through an admission and commitment process for residential services by petition to the DC Superior Court. IDI is licensed and certified to operate eleven ICF/MR homes in the District, and serves 75 individuals with varying degrees of intellectual, physical and developmental disabilities. The individuals served by IDI are among the most medically fragile, and eight of its ICFs/MR essentially operate as 24-hour nursing care facilities. The District’s court action asks the Superior Court to appoint a receiver to take over IDI-operated ICF/MR homes located at 53rd Street, SE, and Edson Place, NE, each of which serve seven District residents with intellectual disabilities.

DOH’s Health Licensing and Regulation Administration (HRLA), the District agency that  licenses and certifies ICFs/MR under local law and the Medicaid program, has identified a number of seriously deficient practices related to, among other things, health care services (which are required conditions of participation under Medicaid), and other standard level deficiencies during recertification surveys, monitoring surveys, and complaint and incident investigations at both of these homes since 2007.  

During the same three-year period, the DDS Incident Management and Enforcement Unit investigated serious reportable incidents involving consumers residing at the 53rd Street and Edson Place ICFs/MR and substantiated one case involving abuse, four involving neglect, and one involving a serious physical injury.  

Attorney General Nickles stated that, “this court action sends a clear signal to providers that the District will not tolerate recurrent deficient practices that put our most vulnerable citizens at substantial risk to their health, safety and welfare.”

DDS’ Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA), in concert with the DC Health Resource Partnership, had been working with IDI management for nearly three years to help the provider correct the recurrent deficient practices at these two homes. On September 30, DDA removed one individual from 53rd Street because of concerns about health care. The following day, on October 1st, HRLA informed IDI of an immediate jeopardy finding at both homes, which means that HRLA found “an immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of clients.” IDI has 23 days to correct HRLA’s findings or lose licensure and certification.  

Against this backdrop of seriously deficient practices, Nickles points out that IDI has been paid over $35M in the past three years to provide services and its 11 ICF/MR homes, and receives among the highest per person per diem rates in the District. In the past three years alone, IDI has been paid $3.7M for the 53rd Street home and $3.7M for the Edson Place home.  

The court action would put a receiver in charge of the day-to-day operations of the two homes until the remaining residents can be moved to other placements.