ALL THE GOP WAS EVER GOING TO DO WAS MAKE THE HERITAGE PLAN MORE EXPENSIVE:

Thursday, the Missouri Supreme Court -- with a clear, unanimous voice -- said expanded Medicaid is constitutional. That means 275,000 people now eligible for Medicaid must soon be enrolled in the program if they apply.

It was a good day for the rule of law. It was a great day for the working poor, who will be able to get someone to take a look at that nagging cough or skin infection.

All Missourians should celebrate. They won their case.

The court reached its conclusion based on law and logic. It's true, the judges said, that the state constitution prohibits a voter initiative "that authorizes the expenditure and disbursement of a specified amount for a specified purpose, without providing new revenue."

But that didn't happen when voters expanded Medicaid, the court said. The Medicaid amendment doesn't spend a dime. It merely tells the state to enroll Missourians up to 138% of the federal poverty level, and that's what the state must now do.

That means individuals earning up to $17,774 a year, or a four-person family earning up to $36,570, will soon be eligible for health coverage if they don't have it now.

"This decision restores faith in our democracy and that the power of the people will continue to prevail over political grandstanding," Caitlyn Adams, executive director of Missouri Jobs with Justice, said in a statement.

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