Poindexter v. State

Chief Justice Thomas and Justices Freeman, Kilbride, Garman, Karmeier, and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

This appeal arises out of the state’s administrative efforts to recover from plaintiffs costs of their respective spouses’ nursing home care. Rather than exhausting administrative remedies, plaintiffs filed a suit for declaratory and injunctive relief in the circuit court of Sangamon County. They asserted that the state spousal support provisions (305 ILCS 5/10 — 1 through 10 — 28 (West 2006); 89 Ill. Adm. Code §103.10 et seq.) were preempted by the Medicare…