Manatt Health Partner Cindy Mann was quoted in Law360 about the difficulties behind conditioning Medicaid coverage on compliance with work requirements.
The debate reemerged when a push to expand Medicaid coverage in Mississippi, which contained a work mandate, failed in the final days of the legislative session. While many health experts and policymakers strongly support the idea of integrating Medicaid coverage with work requirements, Mann said this concept has not only consistently proven difficult to administer and failed to deliver results, but also reduces coverage largely due to paperwork barriers and consequently can lead to harm for those who need care but lack health insurance.
Even if a change in administration were on the horizon, Mann said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may not approve work requirements as other factors are at play, such as their high implementation cost, an expense which is shared by federal and state governments.
“While the interest in work requirements continues in some states, many have moved on, some deterred by the coverage losses, the cost of implementation (setting up new systems for reporting, etc.) and/or the certainty of litigation challenging such requirements if a new Trump Administration approves these waivers,” Mann said.
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