Victory For Brewer: Judge Tosses GOP Suit Challenging Obamacare Medicaid Expansion In Arizona [View all]

[babylonsister]

Victory For Brewer: Judge Tosses GOP Suit Challenging Obamacare Medicaid Expansion In Arizona

BOB CHRISTIE – February 8, 2014, 6:19 PM EST321


PHOENIX (AP) — A lawsuit challenging Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's Medicaid expansion plan that was filed by fellow Republicans in the state Legislature was dismissed in a ruling released Saturday, handing Brewer a major victory in her battle against conservative members of her own party.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper agreed with Brewer that the lawmakers challenging the law don't have the right to sue, saying their argument that a hospital assessment included in House Bill 2010 that passed in June required a supermajority vote of the Legislature under Arizona's Constitution was incorrect.

Cooper's ruling said it is the Legislature itself that determines if a 2/3 vote is required under a voter-approved constitutional amendment called Proposition 108.

Brewer spokesman Andrew Wilder called the court ruling "a huge victory."

"Judge Cooper's ruling is thoughtful and legally sound," Wilder said in a statement. "As a result, the state can move forward with implementing the Governor's Medicaid Restoration Plan without further distraction of litigation, thereby restoring cost-effective health care to tens of thousands of Arizonans through AHCCCS, and honoring the will of voters.

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