A state judge ruled on Tuesday that Missouri must implement Medicaid expansion immediately, a major blow for the Missouri government and the GOP-led state legislature. Jon Beetem, a state circuit judge, ordered that the Missouri government could not prohibit enrolling “individuals eligible” in Missouri’s Medicaid program, also known as the MO HealthNet program. In his order (pdf), Beetem also prohibited Missouri from “imposing any greater or additional burdens or restrictions” on those who will be eligible under the expansion than people who were already eligible. Missouri voters approved the expansion with a 53 percent majority last August. But Missouri’s Republican-led legislature refused to fund the expanded coverage in April, and Gov. Mike Parson stopped the implementation plan in May. Beetem previously ruled in favor of the Missouri government, but the state Supreme Court vacated the judgment last month and ordered the circuit court to “enter judgment for the plaintiffs.” Last week, the state …