Trump Admin May Let States Impose Medicaid Work Requirements [View all]

[DonViejo]

Last edited Wed Mar 15, 2017, 12:07 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Talking Points Memo


By CAITLIN MACNEAL Published MARCH 15, 2017, 10:32 AM EDT

The Trump administration is considering giving states more flexibility in implementing Medicaid, such as allowing states to create work requirements for residents benefitting from that program, according to the [link:https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-may-let-states-put-new-requirements-on-medicaid-recipients-1489546011Wall Street Journal].

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma sent a letter to governors on Tuesday saying that they would work with states on waivers allowing them to make changes to Medicaid implementation, according to the report. The Journal also reported that Price was set to discuss the waivers with governors Tuesday evening.

The letter from Price and Verma did not spell out exactly what program changes would be allowed through the waivers, but signaled that the Trump administration may approve waivers imposing work requirements on some Medicaid recipients, per the Wall Street Journal.

Through waivers, states could narrow eligibility for Medicaid by imposing work requirements and/or moving the bar for what incomes qualify for the program. States could also require Medicaid recipients to pay premiums or co-pays for emergency room visits.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/medicaid-work-requirements-possible-price

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Woman dies from seizure 6 months after government cut Medicaid benefits and sent her back to work

TRAVIS GETTYS
15 MAR 2017 AT 11:56 ET

An eastern Tennessee woman died from an epileptic seizure less than six months after her government benefits stopped paying for medication.

Amy Schnelle, a former factory worker, received disability benefits for several years and had been seizure-free since 2015 thanks to powerful drugs paid for by her Medicaid coverage, reported WATE-TV.

But the Social Security Administration sent the 31-year-old Schnelle a notice in September that she was healthy enough to go back to work, but she was unable to afford the $1,200 monthly costs for the drugs she needed to avoid life-threatening seizures.

“I bite my tongue,” Schnelle told WATE in September. “There were times where I bumped my head. It would take me hours to come back.”

more
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/woman-dies-from-seizure-6-months-after-government-cut-medicaid-benefits-and-sent-her-back-to-work/