Medicaid Work Requirements Pose Capacity Challenge for States

Republicans are relying on a proposal to make certain Medicaid beneficiaries meet work requirements to generate savings for the federal government.

But such requirements will impose costs on states responsible for determining whether recipients are adhering to them.

While Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal and state governments, states manage their own Medicaid programs within federal laws and guidelines. According to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, most states contract with the private sector to manage their information systems, including processing claims and determining eligibility.

“Most states would probably be in the millions of dollars, you ...