New York Magazine

By: Ed Kilgore

Even as the Trump administration greenlights state-imposed work requirements for “able-bodied adults” receiving Medicaid benefits, five states are asking for the power to take a much bigger step toward treating Medicaid like “welfare”: imposing arbitrary lifetime time limits on benefits for politically disfavored categories of recipients.

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If it’s unclear Medicaid work requirements will pass legal muster (they are already under attack in the courts on grounds that they violate the basic laws governing the program), the legality of time limits is even more dubious, despite the administration’s broad powers to grant waivers to let states “experiment” with ways to achieve program goals. Since the 2010 expansion clearly made childless adults eligible for Medicaid, it’s hard to argue quickly taking benefits away (one state, Kansas, wants a 36-month limit) as though the beneficiaries don’t really deserve them was part of the legislative design. It’s also not clear the administration is going to approve time limits, though one unhappy progressive observer gave approval a “50-50 chance.”

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