Weaver v. Reagen

701 F. Supp. 717, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14317, 1988 WL 134865
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedSeptember 29, 1988
Docket87-4314-CV-C-5
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 701 F. Supp. 717 (Weaver v. Reagen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Weaver v. Reagen, 701 F. Supp. 717, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14317, 1988 WL 134865 (W.D. Mo. 1988).

Opinion

ORDER

SCOTT 0. WRIGHT, District Judge.

Before the Court are plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, and cross-motions for summary judgment filed by plaintiffs and defendants. For the following reasons, the Court concludes that this action is properly certifiable as a class action. Additionally, the Court concludes that defendants’ motion for summary judgment must be denied and that summary judgment must be entered in favor of plaintiffs.

Factual Background

Plaintiffs Glenn C. Weaver, T.G., and Mark Momot bring this action individually and also seek certification of a class of Medicaid recipients who are unable to obtain the drug Retrovir (“AZT”) under the Missouri Medicaid Programs. Plaintiffs claim that defendants’ refusal to place the drug AZT on the Missouri Medicaid Drug List, or otherwise provide Medicaid coverage for the drug through defendants’ exception process, violates federal regulations 42 C.F.R. §§ 440.230(b) and 440.-240(b), and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Thus, they allege that this denial is invalid under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief for themselves and the proposed class to enable them to obtain Medicaid coverage for AZT. In other words, plaintiffs seek to enjoin defendants from continuing to deny coverage of AZT *719 to Medicaid recipients under the Missouri Medicaid Program.

The defendants in this action are Dr. Michael Reagan, Director of the Department of Social Services and Jane Kruse, Director of the Division of Medical Services.

The facts, as set forth in the pleadings and the affidavits filed in support of the parties’ motions for summary judgment, are generally undisputed. This action was initially filed on October 5,1987, with plaintiff Weaver being the only named class representative.

In plaintiffs initial complaint, plaintiff Weaver alleged that he was first diagnosed as suffering from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (“AIDS”) in November of 1986. Plaintiff Weaver alleged that he had been determined to be eligible for Medicaid and that since that time he has suffered from a variety of medical problems resulting from AIDS, specifically pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, substantial weight loss, fevers, night sweats, and numerous infections. Plaintiff Weaver further alleged that his physician had prescribed AZT for the treatment of plaintiff Weaver’s AIDS, and that plaintiff Weaver could not fill that prescription because he lacked the financial resources to pay the cost himself and Missouri’s Medicaid Program would not, at that time, cover AZT for Medicaid-eligible individuals. In that first complaint, plaintiff Weaver alleged that he applied under Missouri’s exception procedure for coverage of his Retrovir prescription, but that defendants would not cover Retrovir under their exception procedures. At the time this complaint was filed, the State of Missouri did not provide any Medicaid coverage for AZT.

The drug AZT is the only approved treatment for AIDS. AZT has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) as a safe and effective treatment for AIDS and is the only drug for AIDS which has been approved by the FDA. The Health Care Financing Administration has advised state Medicaid agencies to include AZT under the Medicaid program for recipients who have AIDS.

Shortly after the filing of this action, the Missouri Department of Social Services promulgated an emergency rule, which has since become a final state rule, including AZT under the Missouri Medicaid Program under certain circumstances. This rule, 13 C.S.R. 70-20.110 [Medicaid Program Coverage of Approved Drugs for Treatment of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) ], now provides for coverage for the drug AZT as follows:

“(1) The availability of the drug Zidovu-dine, formerly known as Azidothymidine [AZT], for Missouri Medical Coverage shall be limited to only those eligible Medicaid recipients for whom the prescribing physician has established a medical diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and who have a history of cytologically confirmed pneu-mocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) or an absolute CD4 (T4 helper/inducer) lymphocyte count of less than two hundred (200) per cubic millimeter in the peripheral blood before therapy is begun.”

This language is virtually identical to FDA’s approval statement for the drug.

On March 20, 1987, the FDA announced its approval of AZT for marketing under the brand name “Retrovir” by the Burroughs Wellcome Company. Missouri received notification from the Health Care Financing Administration (“HCFA”) with the FDA’s approval statement as follows:

“Retrovir capsules are indicated for the management of certain adult patients with symptomatic HIV infection (AIDS and advanced ARC [AIDS Related Complex] ) who have a history of cytologically confirmed Pneumocystis carinii or an absolute T4 helper/inducer lymphocyte count of less than 200/cu mm in the peripheral blood before therapy is begun.”

Thus, it is undisputed that the FDA has approved the use of AZT for AIDS patients who either have a history of cytologically confirmed Pneumocystis carinii or an absolute T4 helper/inducer lymphocyte count of less than 200. It is also undisputed that the Missouri Medicaid program provides re *720 imbursement for the use of AZT in patients who meet either of those criteria.

Based upon this change in position, defendants, on August 26, 1987, moved for dismissal of this action, alleging that plaintiff Weaver had become eligible as a Medicaid recipient for coverage of AZT and, thus, the action was rendered moot for lack of a case or controversy.

In response to defendants’ motion to dismiss, plaintiffs filed a first amended complaint on December 8, 1987, adding plaintiff T.G., proceeding under a psuedonym and allegedly suffering from AIDS, but who did not meet the criteria set forth in Missouri’s Medicaid program for coverage of the drug AZT. More specifically, the first amended complaint was identical to the original complaint except that it further alleged in ¶ 22:

“Plaintiff T.G., who is proceeding under a pseudonym, was first diagnosed as infected with the AIDS virus in February of 1987. He has applied for and has been informed by the Missouri Department of Social Services that he is eligible for Medicaid. Since the diagnosis, he has suffered from a variety of diseases, including Kaposi’s sarcoma. Plaintiff’s physician has prescribed Retrovir for the plaintiff’s treatment. Plaintiff cannot fill and will not be able to fill the prescription because he lacks the financial resources to pay the cost himself and Missouri’s Medicaid Program does not cover Retrovir.”

On May 10, 1988, defendants filed motions for summary judgment, alleging essentially two grounds in support thereof. First, defendant alleges that since plaintiff T.G. has never applied for Medicaid coverage of AZT, then there is no case or controversy between plaintiff T.G. and the defendants.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
701 F. Supp. 717, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14317, 1988 WL 134865, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weaver-v-reagen-mowd-1988.