Effie Day

by Gregg Lombardi, Executive Director

I am pleased to announce that Missouri Lawyers Weekly has selected Effie Day, the Director of Legal Aid of Western Missouri’s Medicaid Appeals Project at Truman Medical Center as a winner of one of its Women’s Justice Awards for 2010. And it’s no surprise as to why Effie won the award.

For the last 37 years, Effie has devoted herself and her career to improving the lives of low-income Missourians and improving their access to healthcare. Through her persistent and tenacious representation of her clients, she has improved the lives of thousands of low-income Missourians.

In 1972, Effie was one of seven women to graduate from the University of Missouri School of Law and once she got her degree, she went straight to work for Legal Aid of Western Missouri for about $5.50 per hour. (The following year Legal Aid reduced attorneys’ salaries even further to keep the agency afloat.)

She has become one of the most effective litigators to ever work for Legal Aid. In her career, Effie has litigated thousands of cases asserting the rights of low-income people to access healthcare through Missouri’s Medicaid program. As prevailing counsel in numerous appellate cases, Effie has, for all practical purposes, written Missouri’s Medicaid law. She has been counsel in most of the major appellate cases that define the rights of Medicaid beneficiaries in Missouri, including:

--Grant v. Toan, (United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri) (established the right of Medicaid beneficiaries to challenge the denial of services and required the Division to inform beneficiaries if it had denied claims);

--Savage v. Stangler, 795 F.2d 643 (8th Cir. 1988) (challenging a Division proposal that the home of institutionalized Medicaid applicant may be considered in determining financial eligibility for Medicaid benefits. The publicity surrounding this case led to a change in law in Missouri, exempting the homes of nursing home patients, when determining eligibility for Medicaid).

Effie was also prevailing counsel in Slayden v. Stangler, (United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri) (the Division is required to establish a process for replacement of stolen and lost AFDC checks within a reasonable amount of time) and in Thompson v. Toan, (United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri) (established the process for prompt processing of AFDC benefits statewide in Missouri).

Although she has proven to be a talented appellate advocate, Effie’s passion is in helping individual clients obtain the benefits they deserve under the law. She patiently and tirelessly assists her clients, often working nights and weekends. Over her career at Legal Aid, Effie has represented more than 5,000 clients. She prevails in at least 90% of Medicaid appeals cases she handles and obtained Medicaid benefits for over 400 clients in the last ten years.

For the last five years, Effie has led Legal Aid’s Medicaid Appeals Project, which is a collaboration with Truman Medical Center, Kansas City’s primary public hospital. The staff at Truman refers patients to Legal Aid who have been denied Medicaid benefits and who the staff at Truman believes should receive those benefits. Legal Aid then appeals these decisions. The project has led to over 1,000 Truman patients, who are permanently and totally disabled, receiving Medicaid benefits after having had those benefits improperly denied. As a result of having Medicaid benefits, Effie’s clients have access to ongoing, proactive medical care, which substantially enhances their quality of life.

Effie Day brought justice to thousands of people throughout Missouri. Many of her clients had never had anyone fight for their rights before Effie took their case. By steadfastly protecting her clients’ most fundamental rights, Effie gave them faith that the justice system in Missouri can work for them. She has taken away pain and given them access to basic care and, in doing so, has made the state a better place to live for all of us.