Are Medicaid work requirements effective?
Foundation for Government Accountability’s Jared Meyer on the Trump administration’s push for Medicaid work requirements.
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona quietly suspended plans to require about 120,000 people to work, volunteer or go to school to receive Medicaid benefits, as courts have taken a dim view of similar mandates in other states.
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The decision is another setback to efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies in many Republican-led states to put conditions on low-income people seeking taxpayer funded benefits.
In Arizona, "implementation is being temporarily delayed, as court cases in other states play out, to avoid disruptions to and protect Arizona's most vulnerable members," the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System — the state Medicaid program — said last week in a three-sentence notice on its website.
The Trump administration had approved Arizona's request to implement work requirements no earlier than Jan. 1, 2020.
In March, a U.S. judge blocked work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky, ruling the measures undermined the program's mission of providing health care for the needy. Arizona officials said at the time that the ruling didn't affect their plans.
New Hampshire suspended its work requirements in July, and they were later blocked by a judge. Maine's new Democratic governor dropped work requirements sought by her Republican predecessor shortly after taking office in January.
A federal appeals court considering the Arkansas and Kentucky case has sharply questioned the work requirements.
At issue is whether a program created by Congress to provide medical care to the poor can also be used to encourage low-income people to try to move up in society and make that a condition to keep getting help. The Trump administration has argued the rules would make people healthier. Nearly 20 states are in various stages of trying to implement work requirements.
Critics say work requirements would jeopardize health care for hardworking people struggling with child care, transportation and other issues while working low-wage jobs with fluctuating hours.