CMS Administrator Seema Verma went to bat for Medicaid work requirement programs, which have been implemented or approved in a handful of states, even as thousands of beneficiaries are on course to lose healthcare coverage as a result of these rules.
The Trump administration announced it would allow states to submit waivers to implement work requirements for their state Medicaid programs at the beginning of 2018 and released a report calling the timing “ideal” for such demonstrations.
Roughly 4,300 beneficiaries in Arkansas lost Medicaid coverage at the start of September after failing to comply with the work requirement program implemented in June. Thousands more could lose coverage in the coming months, in part because they weren’t aware the new rules existed, The New York Times reported.
Verma referred to the programs as a “community engagement demonstration” during a speech at the 2018 Medicaid Managed Care Summit in Washington, D.C., this week. She also acknowledged the policy was controversial, but she rejected criticisms of the new rules.
“It is not compassionate to trap people on government programs, or create greater dependency on public assistance as we expand programs like Medicaid,” she said.
Opponents of the programs argue the rules punish some of the most vulnerable people. Verma maintained the demonstration is a cost-saving measure and contributes to leading beneficiaries to healthier lives.
“Community engagement requirements are not some subversive attempt to just kick people off of Medicaid,” she said. “Instead, their aim is to put beneficiaries in control with the right incentives to live healthier independent lives.”
A pair of recent studies published in JAMA Internal Medicine determined that, if expanded, work requirements could kick millions off coverage without recouping many savings for Medicaid. Work requirements could lead to the disenrollment of 2.1 million people, which account for just 0.7 percent of Medicaid spending nationally, studies found.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."