Court Halts Kentucky’s Medicaid Work Requirement

In January, we reported on a lawsuit filed by the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) and others challenging the work requirements in Kentucky which were approved by CMS. On Friday, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that CMS had not fulfilled its burden under the Medicaid statute to determine how the waiver would affect the coverage of Medicaid recipients in Kentucky before approving the waiver. The Kentucky waiver now returns to CMS where it could presumably reevaluate it taking into account the court’s ruling. Below are more resources on this decision.

• NHeLP’s Statement on the Decision
• Kaiser Family Foundation: Explaining Stewart v. Azar: Implications of the Court’s Decision on Kentucky’s Medicaid Waiver
• Health Affairs Blog: Medicaid Work Requirements: Inside The Decision Overturning Kentucky HEALTH’s Approval