Work Requirement Legal Fray Centers on Purpose of Medicaid

First Move will not publish Monday, Oct. 14, due to the Columbus Day federal holiday. We’ll return Tuesday, Oct. 15.

Can you make people work for their Medicaid? That’s the question a federal appeals court will address today. The federal government, along with Arkansas and Kentucky, want new state work requirements tied to eligibility for the low-income health-care program. A federal district court ruled in March that HHS Secretary Alex Azar lacked authority to approve the two states’ plans to include the work requirements and put their programs on hold.

Coverage or Health? The cases ultimately are about whether Medicaid ...