A federal judge has blocked New Hampshire from obligating certain Medicaid beneficiaries work or train for work as a condition of staying on the program.
U.S. Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., struck down the work rules Monday after issuing similar decisions about rules in Kentucky and Arkansas earlier this year. The decision deals a blow to the Trump administration, which has encouraged states to apply for the programs as a way to help alter Medicaid, a government-funded healthcare program for the poor.
Operationally, the decision won’t change anything in New Hampshire right away. The state’s Republican governor, Chris Sununu, had already signed a bill into law that delayed the work requirements after state officials learned that nearly 18,000 people were slated to lose coverage because they didn’t comply with the rules.
The program had been in effect only a month after kicking off in June and the bill Sununu signed into law moved the work requirements back until September. The decision from the federal judge stops them entirely, though it’s possible the Trump administration will appeal the decision.
Boasberg, a President Barack Obama appointee, concluded in his opinion that the Trump administration didn’t adequately consider that thousands of people would be likely to lose coverage under the work requirements.
Opponents had filed suit saying that the requirements were in violation of federal law. Under Obamacare, states were allowed to expand Medicaid to people making less than roughly $17,000 a year, regardless of whether they worked or had a disability.
In an effort to alter this arrangement, the Trump administration has approved work rules in states that obligate certain people to work, volunteer, or take classes for 80 hours a month as a condition of being allowed to remain in Medicaid. Officials from the administration and many Republicans have said that coverage should not extend to adults capable of work and instead should be limited to the most vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities, children, and older adults who need specialized care.
