Judge blocks N.H. Medicaid work requirement

A federal judge yesterday blocked Medicaid work requirements in New Hampshire, as he did earlier this year in Kentucky and Arkansas. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in May authorized New Hampshire to require certain adults in its Medicaid premium assistance program to work or participate in other “community engagement” activities, such as job training, at least 100 hours per month to remain eligible. “The issues presented in this case are all too familiar,” wrote U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg. “In the past year or so, this Court has resolved challenges to similar programs in Kentucky and Arkansas, each time finding the Secretary’s approval deficient. The overriding shortcoming in the agency’s decisions in those cases was its failure to adequately consider the requirements’ effects on Medicaid coverage. ….Plaintiffs argue that the Secretary’s approval of New Hampshire’s plan suffers from the same deficiency and thus must meet the same fate. The Court concurs.”