As a first in the history of the Medicaid program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved, on January 12, 2018, Kentucky’s section 1115 waiver application that imposes on many beneficiaries a “community engagement” requirement as a condition of Medicaid eligibility. This is commonly referred to as a “work” requirement, given that it can be satisfied through employment. The prior administration had rejected similar work requirements proposed under an Arkansas waiver requirement as falling outside the boundaries of the Secretary’s statutory authority under Title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide “medical assistance” to designated indigent populations.
The following are some takeaways from the Kentucky HEALTH approved demonstration project.
What must affected beneficiaries do? Beneficiaries subject to the requirement must demonstrate completion of 80 hours (each month) of community engagement activities. Otherwise, they will lose Medicaid coverage. Beneficiaries can fulfill the requirement through a combination of employment, education, job skills training, or community service. Continue reading…