CMS Administrator Seema Verma told reporters Nov. 27 the agency will not stop approving Medicaid work requirements despite more than 12,000 Arkansans losing health coverage due to the new rules, according to The Hill.
The agency is "looking closely" at those who dropped Medicaid coverage to identify why they left the program. Ms. Verma said some people may have simply chosen not to follow the new rules and others may no longer need Medicaid because they found work, according to the report.
Arkansas became the first state to institute Medicaid work requirements in June. The requirements direct enrollees to appropriately report at least 80 hours of work, school, volunteering or job searching per month to maintain Medicaid coverage, with the aim of motivating more people to find work and better their economic situation.
However, critics say the requirements may not be appropriately designed. In early November, a federal oversight panel called for HHS to stop kicking people off the program without improving awareness of the new rules.
Ms. Verma told reporters CMS will continue to approve state applications for work requirements, according to The Hill.
Read the full report here.
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