Ellis ex rel. Ellis v. Patterson

ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

Brandy Ellis brought this suit in order to get a determination that the Arkansas Medicaid plan must pay for her liver transplant. The District Court1 denied her relief, holding that Congress left to the states the choice of whether to include organ transplants in their Medicaid plans.2 We affirm the District Court on this issue; the State of Arkansas is not required to fund organ transplants under Medicaid. However, since the filing of this suit, the State has decided to modify its Medicaid plan to provide funding for some additional kinds of organ transplants, including…