INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO) — Medicaid patients from Indiana and four other states have joined several medical organizations in a federal lawsuit challenging rules governing exemptions from new Medicaid work requirements.
According to 21Alive, the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Maryland, includes Medicaid enrollees from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and North Carolina. Several medical organizations, including the American College of Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics, are also plaintiffs.
The requirements stem from the federal tax and spending law signed by President Donald Trump last year. It requires certain adults receiving Medicaid through expansion programs to meet work, education or community engagement requirements, while providing exclusions for some people, including those considered medically frail.
The lawsuit challenges a federal rule implementing the law, arguing it improperly narrows who can qualify for the medical frailty exclusion. The plaintiffs contend that requiring people with certain medical conditions to demonstrate that their conditions interfere with their ability to work or participate in qualifying activities goes beyond what Congress required. The federal government has defended the broader work requirement policy as a way to encourage employment and community engagement.
The issue could have a direct impact in Indiana. The state’s Healthy Indiana Plan is preparing to implement work requirements beginning Jan. 1. HIP members subject to the rules generally will need to demonstrate 80 hours per month of qualifying activities, such as employment, education or volunteering, or meet another compliance standard or exclusion.
Indiana officials have also been working to determine how the medical frailty provisions will apply to HIP members as the federal rules take effect.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to block the challenged portions of the federal rule, arguing the requirements could cause eligible patients with serious or chronic medical conditions to lose coverage because of the additional verification process.
The lawsuit remains pending in federal court.
