The Missouri Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that state lawmakers must come up with the cash to expand eligibility for Missouri's Medicaid program.
The court sent the case, Stephanie Doyle et al. v. Jennifer Tidball et al. (Missouri Supreme Court Case SC99185), back to a state court judge in Cole County, Missouri, and told him to develop a judgment that will meet the needs of people who could benefit if Missouri expands its Medicaid program.
Missouri residents voted in August 2020, by a 53% to 47% margin, to add a Medicaid eligibility expansion amendment to the Missouri Constitution. Implementing the measure would help the state qualify to participate in the federal Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion funding program.
However, state lawmakers have refused to fund implementation of the measure. Judge Jon Betem, who heard the Doyle case in Cole County, ruled that one part of the Missouri Constitution prohibits voters from using a ballot measure to force lawmakers to appropriate funding for a program, unless the measure provides a mechanism for raising revenue to cover the cost of the appropriation.
Missouri Supremes' Decision
The Missouri Supreme Court held — in a "per curiam" opinion, or an opinion authored by all judges on the court — that the new Medicaid expansion amendment simply affects how the state Medicaid program allocates its funding, not lawmakers' decisions about appropriations.
The new Medicaid expansion amendment does not require state lawmakers to "authorize the expenditure and disbursement of a specific amount of money for a specified purpose," the court said.
Lawmakers may not appropriate enough money to support the Missouri Medicaid program, but the legal consequences of inadequate Medicaid funding appropriations are not relevant to the Doyle case, according to the court.
Seven judges serve on the Missouri Supreme Court. Three were appointed by Democrats, and four were appointed by Republicans.
One of the judges was appointed by Missouri's governor, Mike Parson, who has opposed the Medicaid eligibility expansion effort.
ACA Medicaid Expansion Background
Medicaid is a program that uses state and federal money to pay for health care and nursing home care for low-income people, and for some moderate-income people who qualify for nursing home benefits under state eligibility laws.
About 859,000 of Missouri's 6.1 million residents had Medicaid coverage in April 2020, according to Medicaid.gov.
The current Missouri Medicaid program provides no coverage for able-bodied, childless, working-age adults.
