Sen. Brown Commends Biden Administration for Stopping Ohio Medicaid Work Requirements

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 -- Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, issued the following news release:

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today commended the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services -- a part of the Biden administration -- for ending a policy approved by the last administration that placed burdensome work requirements on Ohioans, which had the potential to force thousands of people off of their health insurance coverage.

"We should be making it easier for Ohioans to access care, not harder - especially at a time when Ohioans are fighting against the COVID-19 global pandemic." said Brown. "Medicaid is a program that helps working families and burdensome work requirements create a barrier to health care for those who need it most, especially those who suffer with addiction."

According to a letter the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent to the state, it's risky to tie work requirements to Medicaid eligibility since no one knows what long-term effects the COVID-19 pandemic will have on the economy.

In 2014, the state of Ohio expanded Medicaid to cover adults making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty rate - about $30,305 for a family of three. This group is referred to as the Medicaid expansion population and it's the same group that would have had to abide by work requirements. In a 2018 report, the Ohio Department of Medicaid reported about half of this group had received treatment for mental illness or addiction. Medicaid is an essential safety net program, and the implementation of work requirements would have made it harder for Ohioans to access it in a time when overdose deaths are rising.

In 2019, the previous administration approved a request from the state of Ohio to require Medicaid recipients work at least 20 hours per week or be engaged in other approved activities in order to maintain their health coverage. The requirements were supposed to go into effect in January 2021, but were put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full letter CMS sent to Ohio here: https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/section-1115-demonstrations/downloads/oh-work-requirement-community-engagement-state-ltr-08102021.pdf