States Get Creative as Work Requirements Continue to Take Hold in Medicaid

More than 12.8 million people receive Medicaid benefits in states that have requested to add community engagement standards — or work requirements — to their Medicaid programs. Many states are targeting their expansion groups, which are largely made up of adults with higher incomes than the typical Medicaid population, but several states that have not expanded Medicaid have also applied. CMS has asked states requesting work requirements to outline how they will address common barriers to employment. Most notable is Ohio, which has proposed to automatically exempt anyone who resides in counties that experience unemployment rates at 120% or higher than the national average, which includes over 20% of its overall Medicaid population (see graphic below).

SOURCE: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; MMM, AIS's Medicare and Medicaid Market Data; United States Census Bureau.