By AP/KWMU
Kansas City, MO – A federal judge in Kansas City expects to decide soon whether the state legally stopped Medicaid coverage for certain kinds of medical equipment this month.
Arguments were held Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple from lawyers for the state and seven disabled Medicaid recipients.
The lawsuit claims this month's cutoff of Medicaid coverage for items like wheelchair batteries and hospital beds is illegal discrimination. About 340,000 Missouri adults are affected by the cuts.
But a lawyer for the state told the judge that Missouri's law makes coverage optional for durable medical equipment. State officials have also noted that patients may apply for equipment that's normally excluded from Medicare coverage.