On Saturday, Nebraska will become the first state to remove people from Medicaid for failing to meet new work requirements signed into law by President Trump.The state's Medicaid Director Drew Gonshorowski told Tradeoffs in an interview that roughly 200 Nebraskans will lose their coverage on Aug.1.
"We've ensured that we have extra steps in place making sure we review any denial multiple times before it goes out the door," he said."We don't want folks falling through the cracks on this."Under new federal rules, about 20 million people in 44 states will need to work or volunteer 80 hours per month, attend school or participate in job training to keep their Medicaid benefits.
People with disabilities or serious illness, parents of young children, caregivers and other select groups are exempt.Trump's big budget law, signed last year, created the work requirements.States must implement them by Jan.
1, but Gonshorowski said Nebraska decided to launch months early in part because he believes these new rules will help people move toward economic stability."It is an opportunity to build something that can reach out a hand to our membership," he said."Why wait?"Gonshorowski and other supporters of work requirements argue the policy will help push people out of poverty and save the federal government $325 billion over 10 years.Opponents point to research that found previous work requirement policies did not lead to more people getting jobs, and many people who lost coverage were either unaware of the rules or stymied by paperwork.
Recent estimates vary on how many people will lose coverage as a result of the new requirements — ranging from as few as 3 million to as many as 8.6 million by 2028.That includes an estimated 30,000 people in Nebraska.In a wide-ranging interview with Tradeoffs, Gonshorowski said Nebraska is well-positioned to take the lead on the biggest change to Medicaid since the Affordable Care Act because it runs its own eligibility system.
The state can...