MA Appeals Court Tosses Anti-Circumcision Lawsuit

BOSTON — MassHealth can continue to reimburse doctors for infant circumcisions after the Massachusetts Appeals Court dismissed a lawsuit by anti-circumcision activists Friday who claim the procedure is "not medically necessary" and a waste of taxpayer money.

Ronald Goldman, an anti-circumcision activist from Boston, and 27 other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit challenging the way MassHealth pays for the procedure in 2020. Goldman's complaint argued taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay for religious and medically-unnecessary circumcisions.

In March 2021, Superior Court Judge Robert Gordon rejected the Executive Office of Health and Human Services's motion to dismiss the case, saying state law allows citizens to sue the state if they believe taxpayer money is being wasted. Goldman raised money for the lawsuit for the lawsuit through a GoFundMe campaign through the Circumcision Resource Center, the activist group he founded.

The Appeals Court ruling issued Friday said the plaintiffs did not have standing to file the lawsuit because none of them had been directly harmed by the action they were complaining about. The ruling also noted U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that individuals can't sue over Medicaid reimbursement rates set by states.

The plaintiffs had also argued MassHealth should review every infant circumcision to determine if it was medically necessary.

"No statute or regulation requires MassHealth to conduct prepayment review of all claims, nor would this be feasible given the sheer number of claims that MassHealth receives each year," Friday's ruling said. "Rather, it is within MassHealth's discretion to decide which services will require more individualized review for medical necessity and which services will be excluded from coverage."