Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
On April 10, the Trump administration appealed recent rulings that blocked work requirements for some Medicaid enrollees (Source: “Trump Administration Appeals on Medicaid Work Requirements,” Associated Press, April 10, 2019).
The rulings last month by Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., blocked requirements for “able bodied” adults in Arkansas and Kentucky under which Medicaid recipients either had to work, study, volunteer, or perform other “community engagement” activities.
The Justice Department filed notice appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Arkansas also appealed. The Arkansas requirements were already in effect, while in Kentucky they’re a top priority for Republican Governor Matt Bevin. The work requirements apply to hundreds of thousands of low-income people in both states who gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.
The Trump administration recently approved similar work requirements in Ohio.
Judge Boasberg had ruled that the Trump administration’s approval of work requirements created numerous obstacles for people trying to get health care, which federal and state officials failed to evaluate or resolve adequately. He questioned whether the state programs were fulfilling Medicaid’s core mission of providing medical assistance.
The administration argues that work promotes health, and officials have said they’ll keep approving such requests from states.
The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians has opposed Medicaid work requirements. In 2018, OAFP (then) President Don Mack, MD, stated: “As primary care physicians serving on the front lines of patient care in Ohio, we know firsthand that approval of Ohio’s waiver application would be a devastating blow to progress made in providing health care coverage to Ohio’s Medicaid and other low-income populations. This waiver, if approved, reverses gains made when Medicaid was expanded and care was improved by transitioning services from expensive hospital emergency departments to less expensive outpatient settings and is a huge step backward in achieving the American Academy of Family Physicians’ long-standing goal of achieving health care coverage for all.