Work Requirement Legal Fray Centers on Purpose of Medicaid

A federal appeals court is being asked to decide the true purpose of Medicaid in fights over state requirements that force people to work, volunteer, or go to school in order to qualify for the health-care program.

The Department of Health and Human Services is battling alongside officials in Arkansas and Kentucky to maintain these new state mandates, which opponents say put health coverage at risk for more than 100,000 low-income people in the two states. The court’s ruling also could determine the fate of other states’ requests to impose similar requirements.

A federal district court judge in March ...