A court has granted a request to dismiss Kentucky from an appeal of a federal judge's ruling that prevented that state's Medicaid work requirement from taking effect.
The one-page dismissal order on Wednesday by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit doesn't affect Arkansas' or the federal government's appeal of the same judge's ruling that struck down Arkansas' work requirement.
Kentucky, along with Arkansas and the federal government, had appealed March 27 rulings by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of Washington, D.C. that declared President Donald Trump's administration exceeded its authority when it granted requests by the two states to impose the work requirements.
The judge said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar failed to consider how the requirements would affect the Medicaid program's goal of providing health coverage to people in need.
In Kentucky, the issue became moot after Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who took office last month after defeating Republican incumbent Matt Bevin in November, dropped the state's request to impose the requirement.
Bevin had threatened to end Medicaid expansion in his state if the work requirement was rejected.
The Trump administration said in court filings that it didn't oppose Kentucky's request to drop the appeal, but it asked that the appeals court address Boasberg's ruling in the Kentucky case when it decides Arkansas' appeal.
The three-judge panel heard arguments in both cases in October. It hadn't issued a ruling in Arkansas' case as of Thursday.
Both Arkansas and Kentucky expanded their Medicaid programs in 2014 as authorized under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to cover adults with incomes of up to 138% of the poverty level.
Arkansas' requirement, the first to be added to a state Medicaid program, resulted in 18,164 people losing coverage during the nine months it was in effect.
To stay in compliance, enrollees had to spend 80 hours a month on work or other approved activities, such as volunteering or looking for a job, and report what they did using a state website. The state also added an option in December for enrollees to report their hours over the phone.
Those who failed to meet the requirement for three months during a year were kicked off the program and barred from re-enrolling for the rest of the year.
The requirement applied to Arkansans ages 19-49 covered under the expanded part of the Medicaid program, known as Arkansas Works.
Boasberg's rulings stopped Kentucky's requirement from taking effect and prevented as many as 5,492 more Arkansas enrollees from losing coverage.
The requirements were approved under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act, which authorizes waivers from federal Medicaid law that the Health and Human Services secretary determines are "likely to assist in promoting the objectives" of the program.
According to the San Francisco-based Kaiser Family Foundation, similar requirements have been approved in 10 other states, including one in New Hampshire that was also blocked by a ruling by Boasberg.
Indiana, the only state besides Arkansas to implement a work requirement, announced in October it will suspend enforcement of the measure until a lawsuit challenging it is resolved.
Metro on 01/10/2020