Hinkle v. Baass – Medi-Cal Class Action Lawsuit Class Notice Website

If you are blind or visually impaired and receive Medi-Cal services or want to apply for Medi-Cal services, your rights may be affected by a class action lawsuit entitled Hinkle v. Baass, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Case No. 3:18-cv-06430-MMC.

About the Case

The California Department of Health Care Services, Contra Costa county, San Diego county, Alameda county, and the plaintiff class representatives in the Hinkle v Baass class action lawsuit have reached a Settlement Agreement. Under the settlement, DHCS has agreed to a plan for how blind and visually impaired people who receive or are eligible for Medi-Cal services can get their Medi-Cal information in different ways than standard size print. A federal court will review this agreement.

For more information about the Settlement Agreement and the rights of individuals who could be affected by the agreement, you can review the Notice at the links below.

If you have any questions regarding the settlement, please call 833-930-2486 or send an email to HinklevBaass.classaction@disabilityrightsca.org

Learn more information about the lawsuit on the Hinkle v. Baass case page.

Important Dates

The Court has scheduled a hearing for June 27, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. to determine if the proposed Settlement Agreement is fair and reasonable and should receive final approval. The hearing will be held in Courtroom 7 on the 19th floor of the federal courthouse in San Francisco, CA, located at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102. You do not have to attend the hearing, but you are welcome to do so.

If You Want to Object to the Settlement Agreement

If you are a member of the class or if you are the legal representative of a class member, you have the right to ask the court not to approve the Settlement Agreement. Your objection must be submitted by May 9, 2025 or if mailed, postmarked by May 9, 2025. You may, but do not have to, appear at the Final Approval Hearing if you submit a timely objection and state in your objection that you wish to speak at the hearing.

You can find more details about procedure for submitting objections in the Class Notice linked above, including the address for mailing objections in print. If you are not able to send a written objection, you have the following options: You can fill out the information online or you can leave a toll free voicemail at 833-930- 2486.