Two House Democrats are calling for a subpoena to compel the Trump administration to turn over key documents relating to their push to implement work requirements for Medicaid.
Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., on Thursday to ask for the subpoena. Their request comes just a week after more than 4,000 Arkansas residents lost Medicaid coverage due to work rules in the state.
“Because these proposed work requirements have not been adequately thought through, they could cause many low-income Americans and their families to lose their health insurance simply by complying with these new requirements,” the letter said.
The lawmakers said they wrote to Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in August to get documents on the work requirements, but the agencies refused to produce any. The administration has encouraged states to get a federal waiver to install the requirements, which demand that able-bodied Medicaid beneficiaries either work, get training or education, or volunteer, for 20 hours a week.
So far, four states have gotten federal approval to install the requirements: Arkansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Indiana. Arkansas is the only state to implement the work requirements. A federal judge has blocked Kentucky’s program, and the others have yet to implement theirs.
The Democrats argue that the new work requirements, especially in states that didn’t expand Medicaid, could lead to coverage losses for low-income individuals who become ineligible for Medicaid, but still cannot afford private insurance.
The letter contains the example of a single mother, working two hours per week in Mississippi on minimum wage, who would earn enough to be ineligible for Medicaid but “would still make too little to qualify for the [Affordable Care Act’s] premium tax credits.”
The lawmakers want any agency projections on how many people could lose coverage based on the work rules and any analyses on the impact of the work rules on low-income people.
The House Oversight Committee did not return requests for comment.
CMS told the Washington Examiner that it received the lawmakers’ original Aug. 23 letter and is preparing a response to it.
