Trump Administration Will Let States Require People To Work For Medicaid

The Trump administration is encouraging states to require "able-bodied" Medicaid recipients to work or volunteer in order to keep their health insurance coverage.

On Thursday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, issued new guidelines for states that want some adults to work in exchange for the health insurance coverage.

Under the rules, states can require Medicaid beneficiaries to work, volunteer or participate in job training. People who are elderly or disabled, and pregnant women and children, would be excluded.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma said on Twitter that the new efforts will "improve Medicaid enrollee health outcomes by incentivizing community engagement."

"This is about helping people rise out of poverty," Verma said Thursday in a conference call with reporters.

She cited studies that show a correlation between good health and having a job.

But opponents to tying Medicaid to work argue that good health leads to the ability to hold down a job.

"Access to Medicaid makes it easier for people to look for work and obtain employment," says Suzanne Wikle of the Center for Law and Social Policy. "A so-called work requirement does not support work but instead puts a critical support for work at risk." 

Ten states — Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin — have already filed applications with CMS to add work requirements to their Medicaid programs. - Read More, NPR

Trump Administration Will Let States Require People To Work For Medicaid

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