Politics: Missouri Supreme Court Sides with Voters, Rules Medicaid Expansion Should Go Forward

The Missouri Supreme Court sided with voters and ruled that the Missouri Medicaid expansion should go forward, the Associated Press reported.

© Jacob Moscovitch/Getty Images Gov. Mike Parson opposed of the expansion of Medicaid as the GOP-led Legislation would not provide the funding for it. Parson listens to a media question during a press conference to discuss the status of license renewal for the St. Louis Planned Parenthood facility on May 29, 2019 in Jefferson City, Missouri.

The state Supreme Court took nine days to come to rule in support of the case, a month after a Cole County judge overturned the constitutional amendment that Republican Governor Mike Parson refused to implement after the GOP-led legislature didn't provide the funding.

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The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three women, all newly eligible for Medicaid. Their attorney, Chuck Hatfield, told the state Supreme Court last week that the actions by the state would essentially "overturn the election."

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

The unanimous decision sends the case back to Cole County Circuit Court. The state Supreme Court ruled that the 2020 ballot measure approving expansion of the government-operated health care plan did not violate the Missouri Constitution because it "does not appropriate money and does not remove the General Assembly's discretion in appropriating money to MO HealthNet."

But Solicitor General John Sauer had urged for the Supreme Court to let the amendment stand and "preserve the Legislature's traditional authority" over the budget.

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Messages left with Hatfield and the Missouri Attorney General's office were not immediately returned.

Advocates for the expansion said they were relieved by the ruling.

"We look forward to seeing Medicaid expansion swiftly implemented by the State so that all eligible Missourians receive the access to healthcare they need," read a statement from the group Healthcare for Missouri. "This is not a partisan issue or a political issue - it's a people issue."

Missouri's Medicaid program currently does not cover most adults without children, and its income eligibility threshold for parents is one of the lowest in the nation, at about one-fifth of the poverty level. The expansion is expected to add Medicaid eligibility for up to 275,000 low-income Missourians.

Voters approved Medicaid expansion last August, passing a constitutional amendment with 53 percent of the vote.

Libertarian group sues government over information on $143 billion in improper Medicaid payments

The libertarian organization Americans for Prosperity Foundation is suing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to find out what it is doing about $143 billion in improper payments made by Medicaid. © Provided by Washington Examiner The complaint asks for records on CMS's efforts to recover improper Medicaid payments and for data showing improper payment rates by states. According to CMS, improper Medicaid payments totaled $143 billion in 2019 and 2020, rising from 14.9% of all payments in 2019 to 21.4% in 2020. Medicaid is a joint federal-state healthcare program for the poor.

© Al Drago/Getty Images The Missouri Supreme Court sided with voters in support of a Medicaid Expansion. The Guardian or Authority of Law, created by sculptor James Earle Fraser, rests on the side of the U.S. Supreme Court on September 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. Al Drago/Getty Images

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