Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Chief Signals Willingness To Approve Work Requirements For States' Medicaid Programs
The New York Times: Trump Administration Will Support Work Requirements For Medicaid
The Trump administration announced on Tuesday what it called “a new day for Medicaid,” telling state health officials that the federal government would be more receptive to work requirements and other conservative policy ideas to reshape the main government health program for low-income people. Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the administration would approve proposals from states to require work or community engagement for people who want to receive Medicaid. (Pear, 11/7)
Kaiser Health News: Medicaid Chief Says Feds Are Willing To Approve Work Requirements
The Trump administration signaled Tuesday that it would allow states to impose work requirements on some adult Medicaid enrollees, a long-sought goal for conservatives that is strongly opposed by Democrats and advocates for the poor. “Let me be clear to everyone in this room: We will approve proposals that promote” employment or volunteer work, Seema Verma, the head of the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said in a speech to the nation’s state Medicaid directors. (Phil Galewitz, 11/7)
USA Today: State Medicaid Programs Can Require Work, Will Get Rated On How Well They Improve Health
More states can require Medicaid recipients to work — or at least "volunteer" — in one of the new ways the Trump administration plans to "help them break the chains of poverty," the nation's chief Medicaid official said Tuesday. The Obama administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said, had the "soft bigotry of low expectations" by refusing to allow states to tie Medicaid benefits to employment. (O'Donnell, 11/7)
The Washington Post: States Will Be Allowed To Impose Medicaid Work Requirements, Top Federal Official Says
Seema Verma, who heads the Health and Human Services Department’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, did not spare criticisms of the Obama administration and called its opposition to work requirements “soft bigotry.” “Believing that community engagement requirements do not support the objectives of Medicaid is a tragic example of the soft bigotry of low expectations consistently espoused by the prior administration,” Verma said in a sweeping address to the National Association of Medicaid Directors. “Those days are over.” (Cunningham, 11/7)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Overhaul Of Medicaid May Face Legal Challenges
"These are individuals who are physically capable of being actively engaged in their communities, whether it be through working, volunteering, going to school or obtaining job training," Verma said at the National Association of Medicaid Directors conference on Tuesday. "Let me be clear to everyone in this room, we will approve proposals that promote community engagement activities." Verma said the agency will adjust its workflow to accommodate those requests. (Dickson, 11/7)
CQ: Administration Signals Support For Medicaid Work Requirements
The move is a marked shift in federal policy. The Obama administration refused to approve state Medicaid proposals that included work requirements. Half a dozen states, including Kentucky and Indiana, have asked the federal government for permission to make such changes through Medicaid proposals known as 1115 waivers. Three others are working on such proposals at the state level but have not submitted them yet, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. (Williams, 11/7)
The Hill: Trump Officials To Allow Work Requirements For Medicaid
The Obama administration repeatedly said work requirements were inconsistent with Medicaid’s mission of providing health care to low-income people. According to Verma, allowing states to impose work requirements is an essential part of granting them more flexibility. Making Medicaid beneficiaries work will ensure they bring themselves out of poverty. (Weixel, 11/7)
Politico Pro: CMS Administrator Makes Case For Sweeping Medicaid Changes
Verma did not specify when CMS would approve the first state waiver with a work requirement. Kentucky and at least six other GOP-led states have sought permission to impose work requirements, a major shift in Medicaid’s 52-year history. (Pradhan, 11/7)
KCUR: Federal Medicare Head Says Action Is Needed To Ensure Program’s Financial Future
President Trump has pledged to not make cuts to Medicare, the federal insurance program for seniors, but Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, acknowledges that changes are needed. One of the program’s main funds, the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, is expected to be depleted in 11 years. On Monday, Verma was in Olathe, Kansas to talk with seniors about Medicare and encourage them to take part in Medicare open enrollment, which runs from October 15 through December 7. (Smith, 11/8)
