The Alaska Supreme Court has refused to temporarily block the state of Alaska from expanding Medicaid.
It’s a victory for Gov. Bill Walker, who announced this summer he was expanding Medicaid without the approval of the Legislature.
Lawmakers sued after Walker announced he was going forward without their consent.
On Friday, Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner denied the request from lawmakers to halt expansion while a lawsuit moves forward. The Alaska Supreme Court on Monday agreed, saying lawyers for the lawmakers failed to show Pfiffner erred when denying the motion for a preliminary injunction.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office said expansion will go on as planned Tuesday. The state expected about 20,000 additional low-income Alaskans to become eligible for health care under Medicaid expansion.
