Trump administration rolls out guidelines for Medicaid work requirements

Via Billy

The guidelines out this morning would allow states to require that some Medicaid enrollees hold a job, participate in volunteer work, or enroll in classes or work training for a certain number of hours each week. States could choose to include caregiving for a disabled child or elderly adult as meeting the requirement. "This is in response to proposals we are receiving from states. It is entirely optional for states," Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a phone call with reporters Wednesday. "This is in no way a requirement." The guidance contains numerous exemptions, and states cannot enact programs until they are approved through a waiver by CMS. 

Medicaid recipients would not need to abide by the stipulations if they are elderly, disabled, children, or pregnant. It also allows states to determine that specific populations are medically frail, such as providing exemptions for people who are undergoing treatment for an opioid addiction. Ten states — Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin — have asked to be allowed to implement the requirement. Verma declined to say which waivers were set to be approved, but did allow that "now that we have taken this big important step, we expect that you will hear from us on waivers in short order."

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