Tag: GOP Medicaid Work Requirement

A Judge Blocked a Medicaid Work Requirement. The White House Is Undeterred.

The following article by Robert Pear was posted on the New York Times website August 11, 2018:

Trump administration officials say they will still allow states to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries. Credit: Rick Bowmer, AP

WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials, whose push to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries was dealt a blow by a federal judge in June, say they have found a way around the ruling and will continue to allow states to put the restrictions in place.

The judge, James E. Boasberg of the Federal District Court in Washington, stopped a Kentucky plan to introduce the work requirements after finding that the secretary of health and human services had failed to consider the state’s estimate that the new rules would cause 95,000 low-income people to lose Medicaid coverage. Limiting access to medical assistance does not promote the objectives of the Medicaid program, he said.

But administration officials said they could sidestep the ruling by providing a better explanation of the rationale for work requirements. The officials have a narrow reading of Judge Boasberg’s decision, saying he faulted them for failing to follow proper procedure. They can satisfy his concerns, they say, by compiling a fuller record and showing that they have thoroughly reviewed the evidence.

View the complete article here.

Imposing Medicaid Work Requirements Would Be Bad for Children’s Health Too

The following article by Leila Schochet was posted on the Center for American Progress website January 19, 2018:

A resident nurse checks the heart rate of a child, September 2009. Credit: Getty/John Moore

Last week, the Trump administration introduced new guidance that would allow states to take away people’s health care if they are unable to find work—all without creating a single job. Imposing work requirements could put at least 6.3 million Americans at risk of losing their health care and would impede—not promote—participation in the workforce.

This new guidance has significant implications for children, not because they would be required to work for their health care, but because a child’s health insurance coverage—and well-being—are closely tied with their parents’ coverage. Imposing work requirements for parents could introduce instability to children’s coverage when they need continuous care and healthy caregivers the most. Furthermore, increasing financial stress in the homes of American families who are struggling to make ends meet would undermine healthy child development. Continue reading “Imposing Medicaid Work Requirements Would Be Bad for Children’s Health Too”

Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements Could Put At Least 6.3 Million Americans at Risk of Losing Health Care

The following article by Katherine Gallagher Robbins and Rachel West was posted on the Center for American Progress website January 12, 2018:

Participants hold signs during the Senate Democrats’ rally against Medicaid cuts in front of the U.S. Capitol, June 2017. Credit: Getty/Bill Clark

This week, the Trump administration issued policy guidance that effectively ends Medicaid as we know it, allowing states to place punitive work requirements on certain Medicaid recipients—more than 7 in 10 of whom are caregivers or in school. Although these so-called work requirement policies may seem reasonable at first glance, in practice, they’re a way to strip away health insurance from struggling unemployed and underemployed workers. President Donald Trump’s actions are just the latest shoe to drop in his party’s deeply unpopular crusade to undermine Americans’ health care—including the highly popular Medicaid program—and come on the heels of a tax cut that rewards the massively wealthy over working Americans. Continue reading “Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements Could Put At Least 6.3 Million Americans at Risk of Losing Health Care”