Arkansas Governor Vows Not To Give Up On Medicaid Work Rules
Last edited Thu Mar 28, 2019, 04:57 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Think Progress
*But Arkansans who lost coverage due to Medicaid work rules should reapply for coverage, as the state won't re-enroll them. Arkansas officials remain fully committed to the state's Medicaid work requirements despite being dealt a heavy blow from a federal judge who blocked the first-ever policy. Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said during a press conference Thursday that he asked the Trump administration to appeal the federal judge's decision. "I believe there should be consequences if people do not exercise responsibility," he told reporters.
On Wednesday, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's most consequential health policy, Medicaid work requirements, in Arkansas and Kentucky. District Judge James "Jeb" Boasberg called the requirements "arbitrary and capricious," as they don't serve the central objective of Medicaid, which is to "furnish medical assistance to its citizens." First of all, Judge Boasberg did not strike down work requirement based upon the reporting elements that has created significant controversy," said Hutchinson.
He did not reach that question because he had a fundamental disagreement with the work requirement in and of itself... I contend that Judge Boasberg is wrong and I'm urging Department of Justice and [Department of Health and Human Services] Secretary Azar to appeal the ruling and seek an expedited appeal of the District Court's decision." "No appeal decisions have been made yet," said a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson, in a statement to ThinkProgress.
The governor added "we are in this for the long haul" and that the president and his administration are also committed to its work requirement. Boasberg's decision means residents in Arkansas and Kentucky don't have to worry about work requirements -- at least for now. The 10 Medicaid enrollees in Arkansas who sued federal and state officials over the requirements were thrilled by the news. -MORE...
Read more: https://thinkprogress.org/arkansas-trump-administration-appeal-judges-decision-to-block-medicaid-work-rules-41fd1f16454f/
Video, Gov. Asa Hutchinson press event.
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/mar/28/watch-live-gov-asa-hutchinson-speaking-judges-ruli/
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (ctr) requests an appeal of the judge's ruling on the state's Medicaid work rules.
"There's also a chance the governor will undermine Medicaid, as he did the last time that Boasberg blocked Medicaid work requirements by ending dental and vision benefits. But Pugel remains optimistic: "In February of 2015, governor then candidate Matt Bevin put out a platform that essentially said that on day one he was going to end the entire Medicaid expansion. And here we are, 4 years later, and we still have the entire Medicaid expansion barrier free," Pugel told TP.
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(ARKANSAS TIMES, Oct. 2018) "Update: Arkansas Drops Another 4,100 From Medicaid Rolls in October,"..State and national data show the majority of Arkansas Works recipients in the target population are likely working already. However, to fulfill the requirement, it is not enough to simply have a job. Beneficiaries must create an account through an online portal run by DHS. (*Critics complaint that the process is confusing and the website is glitchy and frequently down for maintenance.) They must then log on each month to report at least 80 hrs. of "work activities," which may include some portion of school, volunteering, job training or job search hrs.
Only a small percentage of those subject to the work requirement actually reported their hours through the portal, DHS data show. The vast majority either claimed an exemption or else were automatically excluded by DHS. Only about 1,500 people in Sept. satisfied the reporting requirement- and of those, over 1,000 did so by complying with a separate, preexisting work requirement in the SNAP program..
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2018/10/15/arkansass-work-requirement-drops-another-4100-from-medicaid-rolls-in-October Other news sources stated last fall that recipients with questions, data and hrs. were unable to reach DHS by phone, fax & the website because it was down nightly for maintenance.
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