Monthly public policy newsletter from the Mental Health Association in Michigan (MHAM).
Court Prevents Kentucky Medicaid Work Requirement from Starting
A federal court has prevented Kentucky from starting its federally approved Medicaid work requirement waiver.
The court did not say a Medicaid work requirement is legal or illegal under Medicaid law. Rather, it said health care is an integral purpose of the Medicaid mission, and the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) did not adequately assess what the impacts of Kentucky’s work requirements would be on beneficiaries’ health care.
Kentucky’s Governor immediately announced cuts to Medicaid services in the state, claiming they couldn’t be fully sustained in light of the court ruling. CMS then announced it was starting over with a new public comment period on the Kentucky proposal, signaling apparent intent to re-assess the impact of a Kentucky waiver on enrollees’ health care coverage. If this is followed through, CMS and the State of Kentucky would presumably submit a new analysis to the court. Would a “better” analysis allow the work requirements to start? That is unknown.