Medicaid work and community engagement requirement

CMS Fleshes Out Medicaid Work Requirement

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued additional guidance to the states on how to implement the work and community engagements established as part of the criteria for Medicaid eligibility under H.R. 1, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law in July. The requirements seek to connect able-bodied, working-age adults with work and community engagement activities and reduce inappropriate Medicaid enrollment. The states are required to implement these requirements by January 1, 2027 but may do so sooner if they wish. In providing this guidance, CMS enumerates four major principles, quoted [...]

The Struggle to Help Prove Medicaid Eligibility

With new Medicaid work rules scheduled to take effect in 42 states by the end of 2026, policymakers are working to find new, better ways to enable Medicaid applicants to demonstrate that they are meeting Medicaid work and community engagement requirements. While the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has set aside $200 million to pursue technology solutions for this problem, such efforts, at least so far, have not proven successful. In a test in Louisiana, for example, state officials sent text messages to 13,000 Medicaid enrollees, asking them to follow a link to a state web site at which [...]