Work requirement approved for Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion
Gov.
"This is not about punishing anyone," the Republican governor said at a news conference with
The Trump administration in January said it would allow states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients. It has already approved proposals from
The new requirement will eventually affect non-disabled, childless adults on the plan who are 19 to 49 years old. This year, the change will affect about 39,000 people aged 30 to 49 years old, though it wasn't immediately clear how many people will be affected next year, when the requirement is imposed on participants aged 19 to 29 years old, according to the state
People affected by the change will be required to work or participate in other activities such as volunteering or vocational training for 20 hours a week.
Several other states have requests for work requirements pending with the Trump administration. Critics of the policy have called it unnecessary and say it could lead to people losing coverage, even if they meet the requirements.
"We don't think that it will be any more effective than if we had just offered Arkansans the necessary support they need to overcome barriers to employment without punitive measures," said
The work requirement's approval was seen as key to winning support for reauthorizing the Medicaid expansion by state lawmakers in
"I think it will help and it will get us closer, but whether or not it pushes us over the edge we probably won't know until the vote is cast," Senate Majority Leader
Verma, however, didn't approve another proposal by
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