Under state work requirements, people have to verify their work status or their qualification for an exemption, according to MaryBeth Musumeci, associate director of Kaiser Family Foundation’s Program on Medicaid & the Uninsured. The red tape associated with work requirements also adds a new burden on the agencies that administer Medicaid benefits, Musumeci noted. The report notes that implementing the work requirements “can be error prone,” resulting in some people being denied benefits they should get and others receiving benefits they’re not really eligible for. Ironically, the first waiver request the Trump administration is likely to approve is from Kentucky, a state that has benefited enormously from Medicaid coverage for people facing opioid addiction. It also states explicitly that states can’t get federal Medicaid money for services like childcare and transportation that people might need to get back to work.

Source: Huffington Post January 12, 2018 02:26 UTC