Lawmakers delay action on Medicaid work requirements

Feb. 26-- Feb. 26--CHARLESTON -- The West Virginia House of Delegates delayed action one day on the Medicaid work requirements bill Tuesday.

The bill, which would require Medicaid recipients to work, volunteer or participate in workforce training 20 hours a week, with some exceptions, had been set for a vote in the House on Tuesday. If it passes there, it will then go to the state Senate.

House Majority Leader Amy Summers, R-Taylor, who motioned to postpone consideration of the bill, said she did so to allow for more discussion. She noted the bill was an originating bill -- meaning it was introduced by a committee instead of a delegate, which then sent it straight to the floor for a vote. Had the bill been introduced by a delegate, it may have been more likely to be reviewed by other committees before going to a vote.

The bill sponsor, Del. Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, has said the goal of the bill is to get people to work and off state assistance.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has said that most people who would be affected already work, but that some could lose coverage by failing to report that work. The foundation noted that when a similar law passed in Arkansas, some had difficulty setting up online accounts to report their hours or didn't understand the new requirements.

The foundation has also noted there is no evidence Medicaid work requirements encourage people to work, that focus groups found most people who would be affected already need to work, and that more than 18,000 people have lost coverage in Arkansas since Medicaid work requirements began in June.

West Virginians are more heavily reliant on Medicaid than most states. About a third of the state used the program, which provides health insurance for those who make up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, in 2018.

Addiction specialists have said the bill would cause those struggling with addiction to lose their health insurance and be even less likely to seek treatment. A West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources analysis found that in 2016, the low-income Medicaid population was significantly more likely to die by overdose than the rest of the population. West Virginia has the highest overdose death rate in the country.

Lawmakers amended the bill Monday to let people in inpatient care continue to receive Medicaid, but addiction specialists noted that the vast majority of those struggling with addiction in West Virginia don't receive inpatient care, that people with addiction take time to become ready for treatment, and that requiring treatment doesn't work as an incentive for people who suffer from addiction.

Email: ebeck@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @3littleredbones

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