Minnesota avoids a policy mistake on health ‘reform’
The prestigious
Sudden sweeping health care changes, especially ones that could kick thousands of poor people off the benefits to which they are legally entitled, should be based on data, not wishful thinking. There is scant evidence that enacting work requirements, which requires enrollees and government staff to file reams more paperwork, actually does what its proponents intend.
Their goals are worthy: boosting employment and transitioning medical assistance recipients to private health insurance. But the question is whether simplistically adding red tape, which is all the new work requirements do, would accomplish these objectives.
The new Harvard study, published in the medical journal in June, analyzed results in
Medicaid serves some of the nation’s poorest people -- including about 1 million Minnesotans. The income limit to qualify for medical assistance in the state is
The study should also serve as a warning to the Trump administration, which has made the policy “a central feature of its plans to restructure” the Medicaid program, according to a
The administration is encouraging other states to implement similar burdensome paperwork requirements by approving plans to do so in eight states. Six other states have applied to do the same. In March, a federal judge blocked or halted two states from moving forward. But as
The Harvard researchers had a real-world case to study, underscoring the credibility of their findings.
The program’s early results do not inspire confidence. An estimated 18,000 people were booted out of the program for failing to comply. Sadly, many were likely working already or eligible for an exemption from the requirements. But they still may have lost coverage due to widespread confusion about the changes.
Access to smartphones, computers and news sources isn’t a given for those who struggle financially. About a third of those who the requirements applied to in
Nor did the work requirements promote employment, which isn’t that surprising given the medical conditions, lack of transportation or affordable child care and other challenges that often accompany poverty. The percentage of people with a job actually dipped in the group of adults targeted for the requirements. Meanwhile, the percentage of people in this group without insurance ticked upward.
The
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