Are Work Requirements for Medicaid Doomed?
Now, the state might have to wait even longer.
On Wednesday,
The lawsuit alleges that the "authorization of work and community engagement requirements is categorically outside the scope of the [HHS] Secretary's Section 1115 waiver authority." (Section 1115 is part of the Social Security Act and used to grant states the ability to carry out policies that don't meet federal rules.)
"When you look at the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program [cash welfare], there's a clause in the statute to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation. When you look at SNAP [
Up to 100,000 people are expected to lose coverage in
"Waivers are supposed to be experimental," Cuello says. When you knowingly take away health benefits, "what is the experiment? What are you testing?"
Supporters of Medicaid work requirements believe that childless, able-bodied poor people should have some elements of personal responsibility tied to their health insurance to help them rise out of poverty.
Regardless of the legality,
"Sometimes these policies are politically necessary in order to sustain political support for the expansion [of Medicaid] and can mean the difference between coverage and no coverage for a lot more people," says Salo.
Case in point:
Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government offers states money to make more low-income people eligible for Medicaid. The feds foot 100 percent of the bill at first, but their support gradually ticks down to 90 percent. Most Democratic-controlled states have chosen to expand Medicaid, but only some Republican-led states have taken the federal funding.
In
There is more in
Even if a court overturns
Every waiver is unique, and most of the states are also asking for other unprecedented proposals like drug testing requirements and limits on how long someone can have Medicaid coverage. The other states awaiting approval to employ work requirements are:
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