Advocacy Groups Planning Lawsuits over Medicaid Workforce Requirements

According to The Hill:

“A battle is brewing in the courts over the Trump administration’s move to let states impose work requirements for recipients of Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor.

[…] the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) issued a press release stating, “litigation is expected because the approval violates federal law.”

While NHeLP is “still reviewing” the approval’s details, “the action appears designed to achieve significant cuts in Medicaid enrollment rather than Medicaid’s stated purpose of furnishing medical assistance to low-income people,” Jane Perkins, the group’s legal director, said in a statement.” Read the full article here.

It is worth noting that discussion of litigation is leading to state pre-emptive responses. Governor Bevin of Kentucky has issued an executive order stating that if a court blocks any component of the state’s new Medicaid waiver, it will terminate its Medicaid expansion program within six months. Kentucky’s Medicaid expansion covers roughly 480,000 people. Kentucky is the first state to have its Medicaid work requirements waiver approved by CMS. Read the full article here.