Cleaning up Trump's mess

Biden health officials have quietly revoked the previous administration’s approval of Medicaid work rules in two states.

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Federal Medicaid officials on Wednesday sent letters to Arkansas and New Hampshire officials, informing them that the administration had formally scrapped the federal government’s permission for the states to mandate that some enrollees work, volunteer or attend school as a condition of coverage.

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In Arkansas, the only state where work rules ever fully took effect, more than 18,000 people lost Medicaid coverage during a brief stretch in 2018 before a judge halted the policy. “Obstacles to finding new employment have likely grown even larger during the pandemic-related economic downturn of the past year, particularly since job and income losses have been highest among low-income and minority workers, who are disproportionately enrolled in Medicaid,” the HHS report reads.

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Though the Biden administration had left little doubt it would revoke work rules widely despised by Democrats, the timing of the move is significant. The Supreme Court is still weighing whether to review lower court rulings against work rules in Arkansas and New Hampshire, and revoking the programs could make the case moot.

  Politico

Slick.

Some states indicated to CMS they would challenge a decision to revoke the work rules. That includes Georgia, which in October received the Trump administration’s permission to partially expand Medicaid to low-income adults along with a work requirement.

Arkansas’ top Medicaid official argued that moving too hastily to revoke the state’s program would violate a previous agreement it made with the Trump administration. She also asked for another two months to respond to the Biden administration’s initial letter.

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Arkansas is among the states that signed agreements with the Trump administration in January that were meant to significantly slow down Biden’s efforts to revoke work rules and other conservative Medicaid policies. The Biden administration said it doesn’t believe those agreements are legally binding.

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CMS letters to Arkansas and New Hampshire on Wednesday said withdrawal of the work rule approvals would take effect within 30 days. States can appeal the decisions to the agency.

New Hampshire?