Implications of work requirements in Medicaid: what does the data say?
- Series Title(s):
- Issue brief (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
- Author(s):
- Garfield, Rachel, author Rudowitz, Robin, author Musumeci, MaryBeth, author Damico, Anthony, author
- Contributor(s):
- Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, issuing body.
- Publication:
- San Francisco, CA : Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, June 2018
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Eligibility Determination Employment Medicaid Health Status State Government Humans United States Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (U.S.)
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- In January 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance for state Medicaid waiver proposals that would impose work requirements in Medicaid as a condition of eligibility. As of June 2018, four states have approved waivers to implement Medicaid work requirements, seven states have waiver requests pending with CMS, and other states are considering or developing work requirement programs. These states are all imposing or seeking to impose work requirements on populations already covered (both expansion and non-expansion populations); however, Virginia passed legislation to adopt the Medicaid expansion that included a provision to submit a waiver to impose a work requirement on a new expansion population. This brief builds on previous analyses to provide data on Medicaid enrollees and some of the policy implications of work requirements. Key findings include: (1) Most Medicaid enrollees who can work are already working but could face barriers in complying with reporting requirements. More than six in ten adult enrollees are working. Those in excellent/very good health are almost twice as likely to work as those in fair/poor health. Having higher education is also positively associated with whether someone works. However, since one in three Medicaid adults never use a computer or the internet and four in ten do not use email, many enrollees would face barriers in complying with work reporting requirements to maintain coverage. (2) Paid work can help provide family resources, but low-wage and part-time work may not be sufficient to overcome poverty. Most working Medicaid enrollees are working full-time for the full year and are working in low-wage service jobs with limited benefits such as sick time or health coverage. Most Medicaid workers (78%) are paid hourly, and 36% of these hourly workers earn a wage at or below $10/hour. Even when working, adults with Medicaid face high rates of financial insecurity. In non-expansion states with low eligibility levels for adults, working part time at minimum wage would lead to loss of Medicaid without access to coverage through the ACA marketplaces. (3) Many Medicaid enrollees who are not working could be exempt from work requirements but would still need to navigate an exemption process. A quarter of non-working Medicaid adults without SSI have mobility or physical limitations such as difficulty going up or down stairs (24%), walking 100 yards (25%), sitting or standing for extended periods (27%), or stooping, kneeling or bending (24%). Many live with daily, activity-limiting pain. Among the "able bodied," or those in good health or better, most say the reason they are not working is because they are taking care of home or family or are in school. (4) A small share (6%) of adult Medicaid enrollees are not already working and unlikely to meet an exemption and thus are the stated target of work requirements. However, systems to track work reporting and to process exemptions would apply to much larger shares of enrollees, both workers and those seeking exemptions. States will be required by CMS to describe strategies to assist beneficiaries in meeting work requirements but may not use federal Medicaid funds for supportive services to help people overcome barriers to work.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (10 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101740279 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101740279