CQ

By: Misty Williams

Health policy experts and advocates say the way some states are proposing to implement Medicaid work requirements may run afoul of civil rights laws, spurring potential legal challenges. Several states are considering adding requirements that people who receive Medicaid work or participate in other activities, usually for at least 20 hours per week. Both Michigan and Ohio want to exempt from work mandates residents of counties with high unemployment rates — which also happen to be mostly rural and overwhelmingly white.

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“If it’s a good policy, why do these folks need to be exempted?” said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. “Why do certain people get privileged over others? It certainly raises many, many questions.” The Trump administration and fellow Republicans tout work requirements as a way to help improve people’s health, lift them out of poverty and reduce their dependence on government assistance. The idea is part of a larger push by conservatives to treat Medicaid more like a welfare program, instead of a health insurance system.

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