Alabama seeks work requirement for some able-bodied Medicaid recipients
Unemployment has been shown to have a negative impact on physical and mental health outcomes. Which is why in January, Gov. Kay Ivey and state Medicaid officials revealed the plan become the newest state to institute a work requirement for some Medicaid recipients. On Thursday, that plan took a step forward when Ivey’s office announced the state will formally seek permission from the federal government to make that change to its Medicaid program. The proposal would only apple to “able-bodied” Parent or Caretaker Relative (POCR) recipients — with exemptions being made for people with disabilities, anyone who pregnant or receiving post-partum care, anyone required to care for a disabled child or adult, among others — that will require unemployed or underemployed adults to become gainfully employed, or participate in training opportunities to enhance their potential for full employment. Alabama Medicaid believes this change will put Alabamians on a path to better health outcomes. According to the proposal, proposed work requirement would impact nearly 74,000 of the state’s 1 million Medicaid recipients. As required by federal regulation, Medicaid is now opening a formal 30 day comment period. A copy of the draft Demonstration proposal will also be available upon request for public review at each county office of the Department of Human Resources and the State Office of the Alabama Medicaid Agency. Additionally, two opportunities for public comment will be held at the following locations: March 5, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. Alabama Industrial Development and Training (AIDT) Auditorium One Technology Court Montgomery, Ala. 36116 March 6, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. Hoover Public Library 200 Municipal Drive Hoover, Ala. 35216 Critics contend the work requirements are based on falsehoods and vilify those who are on Medicaid. “We will not improve the health of people in our state, nor will we improve the state’s economy, by forcing people to work when they are not healthy,” said Samuel Brooke, Deputy Legal Director, Economic Justice Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). “This proposal would unnecessarily increase the burdens of the working poor, and end up costing the state more money by cutting people from the Medicaid rolls and forcing them and their families to use emergency rooms – subsidized by taxpayers – for routine health services.”
Some Medicaid recipients in Alabama may be required to work
According to Gov. Kay Ivey and state Medicaid officials, Alabama is hoping to become the newest state to institute a work requirement for some Medicaid recipients. As part of her General Fund Budget proposal, Ivey instructed Alabama’s Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar to develop a policy for implementing a work requirement for Medicaid receivers. All work requirements would only be applicable to “able-bodied” adults, with exemptions being made for the elderly, people with disabilities, and children. Ivey’s current plan would also require copay increases for Medicaid recipients. Her goal is to “increase efficiency and decrease costs related to Medicaid, all in an effort to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars…I look forward to future implementation of those policies.” This proposal comes after President Donald Trump‘s Administration sent a letter to all state Medicaid directors notifying them that they would allow states to impose work requirements on non-disabled working age Medicaid recipients. However, a work requirement is not the only option suggested by the Trump Administration. Recipients may also volunteer, attend a school or enter a work training program. Earlier in January, Bryant-Republican State Rep. Tommy Hanes pre-filed HB6, which would also require able-bodied adults who are recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , formerly known as food stamps, to participate in a work requirement with similar guidelines to the proposed medicaid work requirements. According to the Lagniappe; “Alabama’s Medicaid costs took up one-third of the current General Fund budget, and the program is routinely the most expensive item lawmakers have to fund…despite that, a recent report from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission found Alabama already runs the leanest program of any state based on the average medical benefit received by its enrollees.” Alabama has approximately 1.043 million Medicaid recipients, with over half of recipients being children, and only 18 percent being non-disabled adults. Several other Republican majority states are seeking similar Medicaid work waivers, with Kentucky being the first state to move forward with the work requirements.
