Trump Tightens Medicaid Exemption Rule, Putting 5 Million at Risk of Losing Coverage
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 2
Trump Tightens Medicaid Exemption Rule, Putting 5 Million at Risk of Losing Coverage
9 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 2
A final Trump administration rule says Medicaid recipients qualify as “medically frail” only if their conditions significantly impair their ability to meet the 80-hours-a-month work requirement.
That narrows a key exemption in the law passed last summer, making it harder for sick adults to avoid losing coverage when work rules begin next year.
The statute had carved out vulnerable people but left “medically frail” undefined; some experts had expected broader protection for patients whose health could worsen without Medicaid, including some with cancer.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated about 5 million people could become uninsured, many of them working adults who still fail to complete the required paperwork; Medicaid covers about 68 million Americans.
How will states prevent a paperwork crisis from stripping healthcare from 5 million people under new Medicaid rules?
Will new work rules help Medicaid recipients find jobs, or simply create more uncompensated care for hospitals?
With AI helping verify Medicaid eligibility, what prevents algorithms from wrongly terminating people's health coverage?