WASHINGTON — Patient advocacy groups are scrambling to secure exemptions from Medicaid’s new work requirements, but the accelerated federal timeline is creating significant hurdles for states and beneficiaries.
Federal officials must finalize implementation guidelines by June 1 for a provision in President Trump’s tax cut bill that mandates certain Medicaid recipients prove they are employed, enrolled in school, or engaged in volunteering to maintain coverage. Once the regulation is published, states will have just seven months—until January 1—to operationalize the requirements.
Advocacy groups representing patients with chronic and serious illnesses are lobbying aggressively for automatic exemptions. For instance, sickle cell disease advocates recently met with White House budget officials to request an exemption from the work mandates. Similarly, HIV advocacy organizations are pushing for similar relief, arguing that these populations face unique barriers to meeting work requirements.
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