Twenty years ago, Jim Brown sat on the board of LIFTT, helping to steer the mission of independence for people with disabilities across Eastern Montana. Today, he is at the heart of a battle no one should have to face — a fight for the very services that make independent living possible.
Jim, a tetraplegic and beloved schoolteacher, lives independently with the daily support of Personal Care Assistants (PCAs). These essential workers help him with bathing, dressing, toileting, mobility, meal preparation, medication, and safety — the basics of survival and dignity. Without this care, his independence — and his life — are in danger.
Yet recently, a bureaucratic decision wrongly stripped Jim of his Medicaid eligibility, deeming him ineligible for the PCA services on which he depends. This was not a policy nuance or paperwork delay — it was a catastrophic error with life-threatening consequences.
What’s worse, Jim was not given a fair chance to appeal. The formal hearing was not even scheduled, and he has been waiting for almost three months. A process meant to protect became a wall he could not scale. But here is what we know — and what Montana Medicaid must acknowledge: Jim Brown remains eligible for services.
Our review of his eligibility, including his continued participation in the Workers with Disabilities Medicaid Buy-In program, clearly shows that he qualifies for support. Denying him care based on a flawed determination undermines both the letter and spirit of Medicaid’s mission.
“How can someone in Jim’s condition even be deemed ineligible?”
Whenever we tell this story to folks, we get the same questions: “What metric, what policy, what rationale could possibly justify removing care from a person whose very existence hinges on these supports?” This is not only a systems failure. It is a human rights issue. Jim Brown has spent decades fighting for inclusion, access, and dignity.
Today, we ask that those charged with serving him honor those same values. Medicaid was built to protect the most vulnerable. We implore you to let it do just that and help him avoid institutionalization, continuing to be an icon of independent living.
We Are Asking — No, We Are Urging
This is a call to action — not just on Jim’s behalf, but for everyone who lives on the edge of institutionalization. We are asking Montana Medicaid to do the right thing: reverse this unjust decision, restore Jim’s services, and uphold the values that keep people with disabilities living safely in their homes, their communities, and their lives. For more information, please visit our website at liftt.org or give us a call at (406) 259-5181
About Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT): LIFTT is a Montana 501(c)3 corporation organized as a Center for Independent Living (CIL). With team members based in Billings and Glendive, LIFTT provides aging and disabled members of the community with programs and services that help empower them to break down the physical, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers that prevent them from being fully independent participants in their lives and communities throughout 18 counties in southeastern and south-central Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Rosebud, Stillwater, Treasure, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org or download our mobile app for your Apple or Android Device.