Fate of Missouri Medicaid expansion in the hands of the state Supreme Court

After an eight-year fight over Medicaid expansion, the arguments are over. The question of whether 275,000 people will receive state-paid health care coverage is in the hands of the Missouri Supreme Court.

Oral arguments took place Tuesday in an expedited appeal. The seven judges must decide whether Medicaid eligibility will expand, as directed by the constitutional amendment approved by voters, or, as Cole County Judge Jon Beetem ruled, if it was fatally flawed because it did not include a new source of revenue to pay the anticipated costs.

The court’s only other option, suggested by Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office in its final written brief, is to leave people eligible for coverage without actually providing it unless lawmakers explicitly fund it.

While there is no deadline for the decision, the expedited schedule indicates the court will rule soon, because coverage was supposed to start July 1.

Read more: https://missouriindependent.com/2021/07/13/fate-of-missouri-medicaid-expansion-will-soon-be-in-the-hands-of-the-state-supreme-court/