BREAKING and great news. Long awaited decision from Appeals Court upholds judge Boasberg 3-0 on Trump Medicaid work requirement waivers. These waivers don’t help people work but do cause cruel and heart unhealthy coverage losses. #HealthPolicyValentines
For those who watched the arguments, it is not a shock that the decision is 3-0. The DOJ had a very weak hand to play. The plaintiffs' attorneys did a great job.
I'm reading the opinion now - first important point to make is that it was written by Judge Sentelle who was appointed by President Reagan.
Judge Sentelle writes "The district court is indisputably correct that the principal objective of Medicaid is providing health care coverage."
Unanimous decision also strikes a blow directly at the incessant framing of Administrator Verma that the Medicaid expansion population is not who the Medicaid program is intended for - stating clearly that the ACA Medicaid expansion is "consistent w/ Medicaid's general purpose"
Decision also makes very clear that only Congress can impose work requirements on the Medicaid program. They are not in the statute. Period. Nor do the other objectives that the Secretary tried to hang his hat on appear in the statute.
The conclusion of the opinion is very strong stating that the Secretary "disregarded this statutory purpose" (i.e. furnishing medical assistance) in his analysis and prioritized "non-statutory objectives to the exclusion of the statutory purpose."
Pencil down.
Pencil down.
