Learn more about how Louisiana might require Medicaid recipients to work for coverage
The idea is among a wish list that
Edwards included Medicaid work requirements among the items in his call for a special session that will begin
But Edwards, a Democrat, has already been working behind the scenes on the idea, which is more often embraced by
The specifics haven't been hammered out, but
"The governor supports reasonable work promotion and opportunities," he said. "In the end, the question is what policy works for
President
In a letter to state Medicaid directors,
Eight states currently have work requirement requests pending with the federal government, while two states --
About 1.6 million people are on Medicaid in
The state estimates that 65 percent to 75 percent of the current adult Medicaid recipients are already working, due to the earned income they report. Another 20 percent or so would fit into the exempted categories, such as pregnant women, the elderly, family caretakers and people with disabilities.
That leaves about 10 percent of the adult Medicaid population who are able bodied and eligible to work, LDH estimates.
"Those are the folks we would want to find and devise a policy to create an opportunity to promote work and engagement," Tuozzolo said.
LDH is also factoring for the possible overhead for enforcing the requirement.
"We don't want to create something that is really laborious or costly," Tuozzolo said. "It's an easy thing to talk about it, it's more complicated to adequately administer."
Before the special session was called, House GOP Caucus Chair
Harris, R-
As the majority leader in the House, it's likely his bill will resemble legislation proposed in the special session.
Harris' proposed legislation would require people 19 to 64 years old who are not disabled to work at least 20 hours a week or take part in a community engagement activity, such as volunteering or worker training, to receive Medicaid benefits.
It would not apply to pregnant women, people certified as being physically or mentally unfit for employment, or people who are responsible for taking care of children young than a year old, children with disabilities or children with serious medical conditions. It also would not apply to people who are enrolled in drug or alcohol addiction treatment programs.
Advocates for the poor and for working families generally oppose the idea, calling it overly onerous on recipients with little impact elsewhere.
"These new policies are recasting Medicaid more in line with welfare program rules," Rudowitz said.
It's likely that there will be little positive impact on
"States see limited savings and increased administrative costs," Rudowitz said.
Tuozzolo said
"The approach we are focused on is we want the most healthy, productive workforce we can have in
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