On Thursday, July 22, 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision and ruled unanimously that the state legislature is required to fund the new Medicaid expansion program. Doyle, et al., Barber and Chaney v. Tidball, et al. (SC 99185). 

In the August 2020 election, Missouri voters passed an initiative petition to amend the Missouri Constitution to provide expanded Medicaid coverage to Missourians ages 19 to 65 whose income falls under a certain level. 

A lower Missouri court upheld the state’s refusal to appropriate the money for the program, but that decision has now been reversed by the state Supreme Court. 

It is estimated that the program will bring coverage to 275,000 people with low income.