STAT+: Federal judge rejects new Medicaid ‘frailty’ definition for work requirements
A judge ruled that federal regulators exceeded their authority in narrowing the exceptions to Medicaid work requirements for people with medical issues.
A federal judge's decision on Thursday delays the rollout of Medicaid work requirements past the start of the year, rejecting the federal government's new definition of "medical frailty" and ruling that states lacked sufficient time and resources to update their eligibility systems. Judge Richard D. Stearns of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts found the regulations too restrictive and acknowledged that the suit from over two dozen states proved the implementation of the Medicaid work requirements, as written, would cause "irreparable harm."
The judge highlighted that enforcing an unlawful definition of "medically frail" might lead to the disenrollment of eligible individuals who rely on Medicaid for continuous care, potentially causing significant hardship without an injunction.
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