Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Indiana Becomes Second State In Recent Weeks To Pump The Brakes On Medicaid Work Requirement Plans
The Washington Post: Indiana Backs Away From Medicaid Work Requirements
Indiana has become the second state in two weeks to retreat from compelling some poor people to work or prepare for a job to qualify for Medicaid, pulling back from a central goal of the Trump administration for redesigning the health insurance safety-net. In an announcement Thursday, Indiana’s Medicaid agency joined Arizona in postponing plans to cut off benefits to people who do not meet new requirements. In publicizing their turnabouts, both states cite federal lawsuits challenging what supporters call “community engagement” rules but what critics say violate the program’s basic purpose. (Goldstein, 10/31)
The Hill: Indiana Suspends Medicaid Work Requirements, Citing Legal Challenge
“The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced today that it will temporarily suspend the reporting requirements of the Gateway to Work program due to a pending legal challenge,” the state agency said in a statement. A federal district judge has already struck down Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas, Kentucky and New Hampshire. Those cases are now being appealed. (Sullivan, 10/31)
Modern Healthcare: Indiana Halts Its Medicaid Work Requirement
Last month, two legal advocacy groups sued to block Indiana's Medicaid work requirement waiver. The lawsuit also seeks to remove Indiana waiver provisions that require beneficiaries to pay premiums, establish lock-out penalties, get rid of retroactive coverage and stop coverage for non-emergency medical transportation. Indiana estimated that 24,000 people would lose Medicaid coverage after the work requirement was fully implemented. CMS Administrator Seema Verma previously worked on Indiana's Medicaid program before taking the helm at the federal agency. (Brady, 10/31)
The Wall Street Journal: Medicaid Work Requirement Is Halted By Indiana
Other states are similarly reviewing such work requirements. Pennsylvania will ask beneficiaries if they want job training rather than basing Medicaid benefits on work. Ohio wants to have a caseworker to first connect with beneficiaries before terminating their coverage if they aren’t working. Arizona, which has federal approval to implement work requirements, has opted to delay the program. (Armour, 10/31)
In other news on Medicaid coverage —
ProPublica: The Trump Administration Cracked Down On Medicaid. Kids Lost Insurance.
In early August, Elizabeth Petersen was home-schooling her children in the kitchen of their northern Idaho home when she got a call from Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, where her 4-year-old son, Paul, was set to have surgery a few weeks later. Since having a stroke around his first birthday, Paul had been under treatment to restore use of the right side of his body. He had recently graduated from a feeding tube and needed surgery to close a hole in his stomach. (Churchill, 10/31)
North Carolina Health News: More NC Children Are Uninsured, Study Finds
North Carolina is one of 15 states that saw a statistically significant jump over the past two years in the number of children without health insurance, according to a Georgetown University report released this week. The number of uninsured children grew in North Carolina between 2016 and 2018, pushing the total number of children not covered from 115,000 to 130,000, researchers at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families found. (Blythe, 11/1)
