A judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Missouri's new Medicaid insurance contracts covering more than 400,000 low-income residents.
The ruling Friday by special Judge B.C. Drumm Jr. rejects all aspects of a lawsuit brought by Molina Healthcare Inc. The judge also denied Molina's request for an injunction blocking the state's new Medicaid managed care contracts from taking effect July 1.
Molina currently covers about 80,000 people under Missouri's Medicaid program. But it lost out when the state decided to cap the number of insurers at three while soliciting new bids.
The judge described Molina as a disgruntled bidder. His ruling said it would have cost Missouri taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to halt the new contracts and would have harmed Medicaid participants.