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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.
The case, filed by lawyers at the National Health Law Program
Legal Aid of Arkansas and Southern Poverty Law Center, is
similar to an earlier challenge to a work requirement program in
Kentucky, which a judge has halted.
"This lawsuit has one goal, which is to undermine our efforts to
bring Arkansans back into the workforce, increase worker
training, and to offer improved economic prospects for those who
desire to be less dependent on the government," Arkansas
Governor Asa Hutchinson said in a statement.
He said it was necessary to have "an accountable system that
does not leave thousands of able-bodied recipients on the
Medicaid rolls."
HHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In June, Arkansas became the first U.S. state to require that
many able-bodied Medicaid recipients do some combination of
work, volunteer, job training or schooling for a minimum of 80
hours each month to keep their benefits, a sweeping shift in
healthcare rules. Those who fail to meet the work requirements
for any three months will be locked out of health insurance for
the remainder of the year.
Republican governors and lawmakers say work requirements are
needed to control Medicaid costs. In Arkansas, the requirements
will apply to people who became eligible for the program when it
was expanded under former President Barack Obama’s Affordable
Care Act.
During the first phase of Arkansas' program, able-bodied adults
aged 30 to 49 who earn less than $680 a month will have to
submit documents each month showing they have worked or
volunteered. State officials have estimated that up to
30,000-40,000 people in the first phase will have to find work
to maintain their benefits. In 2019, the program will extend to
adults aged 19 to 29.
Indiana and New Hampshire have also won approval for their own
work requirement programs, which have not yet taken effect.
Another eight states await approval from the Trump
administration for similar work requirements that will
fundamentally reconfigure the 50-year-old program.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Matthew
Lewis)
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