February 19, 2003

St. Louis Judge Reinstates Eyeglasses Benefit for Missouri Medicaid Recipients

ST. LOUIS-- This morning, St. Louis circuit judge Steven R. Ohmer signed an order reinstating eyeglass benefits for thousands of low-income Missouri residents. Last July, the State of Missouri eliminated funding for eyeglasses for all but a few of the state’s adult Medicaid recipients. As a result, some lower income eye care patients had not been getting recommended eye exams because they knew the eyeglasses they needed would not be paid for.

This January, the Saint Louis University School of Law Clinic and Alton, Ill. attorneys Thomas E. Kennedy and Deborah Greider filed suit on behalf of three St. Louisans who were denied the Medicaid eyeglass benefit. Law professors John Ammann and Barbara Gilchrist of the SLU Law Clinic joined Kennedy in representing plaintiffs James Fisher, Willie Mae Fisher and Joseph Weaver; all have limited incomes and a need for eyeglasses to maintain their quality of life.

The chairman of Saint Louis University’s department of ophthalmology, Oscar A. Cruz, M.D., has said that since the state started denying eyeglass coverage, his department has seen up to a 50 percent drop in Medicaid patients coming in for eye exams, even though the exams still are covered. That’s because, he says, the patients believed an exam was futile if they can’t get the glasses they need.

The lawsuit contended that, while the state cut off funding for eyeglasses, it did not revise the law that made the eyeglasses benefit available to Medicaid patients. Judge Ohmer ruled in favor of the plaintiffs this morning, and his order reinstating the eyeglasses benefit will be effective as of Monday, February 24.

Earlier this year, Ammann and Kennedy were successful in challenging the state’s decision to eliminate dental benefits for Medicaid patients. The Saint Louis University School of Law Clinic has successfully litigated cases involving fair housing laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act, fraud and child abuse, among others, while allowing law students the opportunity to participate in challenging cases.