Three Maryland nursing homes have come up empty in their attempts to take state officials to court on behalf of their residents over Medicaid eligibility.

U.S. District Judge Paul Grimm in October decided to toss the claim, filed against Department of Human Services Secretary Lourdes Padilla and Department of Health Secretary Robert Niall.

The providers alleged that state health officials failed to administer the state’s Medicaid program in a timely manner and in accordance with federal law.

But Grimm chose to dismiss the claims, saying the officials were entitled to government immunity. In filing the lawsuit on behalf of three residents seeking Medicaid eligibility, the two nursing homes “have not properly alleged that defendants discriminated against the three patients on whose behalf this suit was brought,” he wrote.

Holly Hill Healthcare Center in Towson, MD, St. Mary’s Nursing Center in Leonardtown, MD, and the operator of Marley Neck Health & Rehabilitation Center in Glen Burnie, MD, first filed the suit on behalf of residents at their three facilities.

They asserted that the state is required by law to furnish Medicaid benefits with “reasonable promptness,” but for their residents in some cases, it took months before they received a determination from the Department of Human Services.

Officials at the nursing homes did not respond to a request for comment from McKnight’s.