New Rule Allows States to Require Jobs in Exchange for Medicaid

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, recently issued new guidelines regarding coverage for adults. Under the new rules, states can require people to work, volunteer, or participate in job training in order to keep their healthcare insurance coverage through Medicaid. Elderly or disabled people, along with pregnant women and children, are excluded.

“This is about helping people rise out of poverty,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma during a media conference call, citing studies that show a correlation between good health and having a job.

Several states have already filed applications to CMS to add work requirements to their Medicaid programs, and one state—Kentucky—has already been approved. Verma said CMS wants to give states as much latitude as possible to try out their own ideas, which is why the guideline requirements are broad and somewhat unspecific.

The new Medicaid rule tying jobs to healthcare coverage has drawn a lot of criticism. “Access to Medicaid makes it easier for people to look for work and obtain employment,” noted 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.”

It is unknown how many Americans would be affected by the new rule. A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine revealed that roughly half of the Medicaid recipients in Michigan were already working.

For questions, comments or concerns, please contact Jennifer Duell Popovec