Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Suit Claims Administration's Approval Of Arkansas' Medicaid Work Requirement Is Unconstitutional
Reuters: Trump Administration Sued Over Arkansas' Medicaid Work Requirements
Advocacy groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging the decision by President Donald Trump's administration to allow Arkansas to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients in the state. The lawsuit, filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in federal court in Washington on behalf of three Medicaid recipients in the state, claims that the federal Medicaid law does not allow the administration to approve work requirements. (Pierson, 8/14)
The Washington Post: New Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Support For Medicaid Work Requirements
It contends that the administration’s approval of the state’s plan is unconstitutional, violates Congress’s power and undermines the basic purpose of the safety-net program created in the 1960s as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. In language echoing the challenge in Kentucky, the suit accuses the administration of “overturning a half century of administrative practice, and threatening irreparable harm to the health and welfare of the poorest and most vulnerable in our country.” (Goldstein, 8/14)
Modern Healthcare: Advocates Sue To Block Arkansas' Medicaid Work Requirement
The lawsuit, which names three beneficiaries as plaintiffs, claims the HHS secretary didn't adequately consider how the waiver would affect health coverage, the central purpose of the Medicaid statute, before approving the changes. It makes arguments very similar to the successful suit challenging the Kentucky waiver. The lawsuit also challenges the CMS' approval of the Arkansas waiver's rollback of retrospective Medicaid coverage from 90 days to 30 days. (Meyer, 8/14)
Bloomberg: Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements Face New Legal Challenge
In June, Arkansas became the first state where Medicaid work requirements took effect. People who don’t document the required 80 hours per month for three months can be terminated from the program. The requirement initially applies only to people age 30 to 49, with exemptions for various categories, including those who are pregnant, frail or in drug treatment. Starting in 2019, younger adults age 19 to 29 would be required to work as well. About 280,000 people get health coverage through Arkansas Works, the state insurance program for adults at or near the poverty line, according to state data. (Tracer and Tozzi, 8/14)
The Hill: Advocates Sue Trump Officials To Block Arkansas Medicaid Work Requirements
Democrats are fiercely opposed to the idea, warning that it will cause thousands of people to lose coverage, including some who meet the requirements but simply don’t meet the bureaucratic hurdles to prove they are working. "This lawsuit is the continuation of our work, with our state and national partners, to stop the Trump administration’s attempt to transform Medicaid from a health insurance program to a work program — and along the way, to end coverage of medically necessary care for thousands of low-income people,” said National Health Law Program Director Jane Perkins. (Sullivan, 8/14)
In other Medicaid news from the administration —
Modern Healthcare: Trump's Immigrant Healthcare Rule Could Hurt Low-Income Populations
Healthcare leaders warn that a pending Trump administration rule penalizing legal immigrants for using government benefits like Medicaid would hurt public health efforts and reduce their ability to serve millions of low-income children and families. According to a revised draft of the 223-page rule leaked in March, the Trump administration will allow immigration officials to consider legal immigrants' use of public health insurance, nutrition and other programs as a strongly negative factor in their applications for legal permanent residency. The change also applies to citizens' and legal residents' requests to bring family members into the U.S., as well as to young people who have legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as Dreamers. (Meyer, 8/14)
