Rubin v. Sullivan

928 F.2d 898 33 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 7, Medicare&Medicaid Gu 39,180 Winona RUBIN, Director of Department of Human Services, State of Hawaii, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louis W. SULLIVAN, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee. No. 89-16358. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted Nov. 7, 1990. * Decided March 25, 1991. Thomas D. Farrell, Deputy Atty. Gen., Honolulu, Hawaii, for plaintiff-appellant. Joseph Stein, Asst. Regional Counsel, Health and Human Services, San Francisco, Cal., for defendant-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Before SKOPIL, BEEZER and FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judges. BEEZER, Circuit Judge: 1 Hawaii provides free no-fault automobile insurance to all public assistance recipients. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) ruled that Hawaii's free, no-fault program violates section 1903(o ) of the Social Security Act because it excludes medical coverage for welfare recipients and thus places Medicaid in the role of primary payer. The result of the Secretary's ruling was that Hawaii was denied certain federal matching funds. 2 The Director of the Department of Human Services,…