A federal judge in Washington ruled that the work requirements established for Medicaid recipients in Arkansas “cannot stand”. The decision came with a joint ruling to strike Kentucky’s similar legislation.
The two states led the country in a benefits work requirement program.
The Arkansas decision was a total of 35 pages, immediately removed the federal allowance to legally enact work requirements. Arkansas put the requirements in place last June, requiring that over 115,000 Arkansans who rely on the benefits either report working, volunteer hours, or jobs training to remain enrolled in Medicaid.
Since the roll-out of Arkansas works, nearly 18,000 Arkansans lost coverage for failure to meet minimum standards or report an appropriate amount of hours.
For now, the program will be on hold while the program is considered on the federal level.
