Watanabe

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 GRACE SMITH, et al., Case No. 21-cv-07872-HSG

Plaintiffs,

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO

v. DISMISS WITH LEAVE TO AMEND

MARY WATANABE, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 34 Defendants.

Pending before the Court is the Motion to Dismiss filed by Defendants Department of Managed Health Care and Mary Watanabe. See Dkt. No. 34. The Court held a hearing on the motion, see Dkt. No. 60, and now GRANTS it. I. BACKGROUND The plaintiffs in this case are two disabled individuals and a foundation that supports Independent Living Centers and programs for persons with disabilities in California. See Dkt. No. 12, Am. Compl., ¶¶ 16-18. Plaintiffs filed this putative class action lawsuit on October 7, 2021, alleging that Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (“Kaiser”) and the Department of Managed Health Care (“DMHC”) and its Director Mary Watanabe unlawfully exclude or limit coverage for wheelchairs. “In 2010, Congress enacted the Patient…