A Cole County circuit judge has denied an intervenor motion by St. Louis plaintiffs who asked to join existing litigation that challenges the legislature’s failure to include funding in the state budget to cover the cost of Medicaid.
Judge Jon Beetem rejected a bid by plaintiffs Luke Barber, 26, and Christine Chaney, 43, to include their claims with a previously filed lawsuit that’s set for a hearing on Friday, June 18, according to media reports.
“The judge probably decided that the case is moving very quickly and he wasn't interested in having more people come in and complicate the case that the parties have been trying to have resolved very quickly so that there can be some kind of a decision on or soon after July 1,” said James Layton, civil appellate attorney emeritus for the Attorney General’s office.
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, three Missouri residents sued the state, alleging it must enroll them in Medicaid and cover their expenses because an approved ballot petition expanded eligibility and there is an appropriation from which services can be paid.
At issue is whether expansion by ballot initiative is constitutional.
The three plaintiffs in the original lawsuit are Stephanie Doyle, Autumn Stultz, and Melinda Hille.
“It's my understanding that the excuse the two additional plaintiffs made for joining was that there was an argument that wasn't being heard that they thought needed to be established,” Layton told the St. Louis Record.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the two additional plaintiffs are represented by St. Louis attorney Paul Martin who wrote in his intervenor motion that the agency officials who withdrew the state’s application for federal funds after the state legislature and Gov. Mike Parson failed to act, did not have the authority to act.
“It is possible that the court could rule in favor of Medicaid expansion but because the state withdrew its application for an amendment, the expansion may not take place on July 1,” Layton said. “But that's a question that touches on the nuances of how the Medicaid system works, how these plans are approved and how the federal government enforces the plans.”
Medicaid expansion is set to happen nationwide on July 1 however Missouri’s Medicaid plan was withdrawn on May 13 after the legislature failed to include $1.9 billion in the state budget to cover the cost. The Missouri Independent estimates that 275,000 Missouri residents are eligible statewide.
But even if Judge Beetem rules in favor of coverage, Layton foresees a potential delay.
“Someone could demand that until the federal government approves the plan amendment, then it's all a moot point and, at that point, the state has to ask for the plan amendment,” said Layton who is currently of counsel with Tueth Keeney Cooper Mohan & Jackstadt in St. Louis. “I don’t know how long an amendment like that would take to be processed.”