Administration Grants Six-Month Pause on Enforcement of Medicaid Work Rules

Overview

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told states they can delay enforcement of new work requirements for six months so rules that take effect early next year need not be enforced until midyear.
• The law requires able-bodied adults in Medicaid expansion to work, volunteer, or attend school for 80 hours a month and asks states to verify compliance twice a year.
• A federal judge has paused CMS’s regulation defining who is 'medically frail,' leaving states uncertain about which chronically ill people should be exempted from the work rules.
• Top House and Senate Democratic ranking members urged CMS to use its discretion to approve states’ 'good faith' exemptions and said they will press for oversight when they assume committee control.
• Nonpartisan and state estimates warn of steep coverage losses if enforcement proceeds without changes, the CBO projected up to 10 million people could lose access and some states predict large, local drops in enrollment.