Public health scholars ask HHS to reject Georgia Medicaid work requirement extension

Dive Brief:

Public health scholars are urging the HHS to refuse Georgia’s request to continue its Medicaid work requirements program, citing harm to patients, providers and the state’s own finances.

Last week, the American Public Health Association and 65 other public health researchers and academics filed comments outlining how work requirements cause eligible Medicaid beneficiaries to lose coverage and don’t cause any increase in employment.

Work requirements, a longheld policy dream for many conservatives, are at the center of steep Medicaid cuts currently being negotiated on the Hill. Beyond Georgia, three other states — Ohio, Arizona and Arkansas — have also asked the HHS for permission to impose work requirements in their Medicaid programs.

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