Alabama is looking to become the latest state to institute work requirements for some Medicaid recipients.
Gov. Kay Ivey has directed Alabama Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar to formulate a policy to implement work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The move comes after the Trump administration sent a letter to State Medicaid Directors informing them states could apply for waivers to require non-disabled working age Medicaid recipients to get a job, volunteer, go to school or enter a work training program.
Any work requirements would only apply to "able-bodied" adults, with exemptions for children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Ivey's plan also would require increased copays for applicable Medicaid recipients.
The governor's goal is to "increase efficiency and decrease costs related to Medicaid, all in an effort to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars."
"I look forward to future implementation of those policies," Ivey said.
Work requirements for able-bodied adults are already in place for most recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.
Last week, Kentucky became the first state to institute Medicaid work requirements. Kentucky's law requires people to meet the employment requirements or be blocked from Medicaid access for six months.
Medicaid currently covers one in five Americans - about 73.5 million Americans. The program, funded jointly by the federal government and states, provides health coverage to low-income families and individuals, including children, parents, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities. Nationally, children account for more than two-fifths of those enrolled, with seniors or persons with disabilities accounting for an additional one-fifth, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Alabama has some 1.043 million Medicaid enrollees, more than half of whom are children. Twenty-two percent of recipients are disabled or blind; 9 percent are senior citizens; and 18 percent are non-disabled adults ages 19-64.
Nine other Republican states are seeking similar Medicaid work waivers.