Trump Administration Gives States Until July Before Anyone Loses Medicaid Over the Work Requirement
The Trump administration told states Friday that no one has to lose Medicaid for failing the new work requirement until July, giving states an optional six-month grace period after many said they were not ready.
The requirement still technically starts Jan. 1, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will not hold states accountable for enforcing it until at least July 1, NBC News reported.
CMS calls it a “hold harmless” transition period that runs through June 30, 2027, the American Hospital Association reported. States that use it will still check whether enrollees meet the rule or qualify for an exemption, but they will not deny applications or drop eligible people solely for failing it.
The work requirement is a centerpiece of the “big, beautiful bill” Trump signed last year. It requires many able-bodied adults under 65 to show at least 80 hours a month of work, volunteering, school or a work program to keep their coverage.
The administration has argued the rule encourages work, cuts waste and protects the program for people who truly need it.
“States have made real progress, and they’ve been clear with us about what it takes to get this right for beneficiaries — at scale and for the long term,” said Dan Brillman, who oversees Medicaid at CMS.
States have been scrambling to hire staff and set up the systems needed to track enrollees before the Jan. 1 start date, the Associated Press reported. Some states had told CMS they were not prepared to go fully live in January, Politico reported.
Pressure had been building for months. Five Democratic governors asked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month to postpone the rollout, and a federal judge last month blocked enforcement of part of the rule dealing with medically frail people, NBC News reported.
Some states have already moved ahead. In Nebraska, which launched its work requirement May 1, more than 1,000 people had lost coverage or been denied benefits under the new rules through August, according to state figures.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the work requirement alone would leave 5.3 million more people uninsured by 2034 while saving the federal government $317 billion.
The delay comes a little more than a week after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress on a promise to reverse the law’s cuts to health care and food aid.
Advocates welcomed the reprieve but said the underlying problem remains. “Today’s news lets states delay the harm,” said Sarah Lueck of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Content created by Conservative Daily News and some content syndicated through CDN is available for re-publication without charge under the Creative Commons license. Visit our syndication page for details and requirements.
