For example, someone with a traumatic brain injury that makes it difficult to concentrate and understand complex instructions may need one-on-one guidance in understanding the exemptions or in gathering the documentation needed to prove that they qualify and avoid losing coverage.While the waiver acknowledges that some people may need reasonable modifications that help them claim an exemption, there is no evidence that Arkansas has made these kinds of reasonable modifications readily available, let alone that the state has the required systems in place to identify people who may need support to claim their exemption.
But for the same reasons that some people with disabilities need reasonable modifications to request exemptions or meet reporting requirements, some people with disabilities may need reasonable modifications that help them appeal the termination of their Medicaid benefits due to the work requirement. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability and requires government and many private businesses to make reasonable changes to how they operate (called making reasonable modifications) to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access, including in the workplace, schools, public programs such as Medicaid, and privately owned “public accommodations” such as hotels and restaurants.The ADA protects people with a broad range of disabilities and health conditions, extending rights to people who have conditions that affect at least one major life activity or major bodily function. Nearly one-third of people in Arkansas who likely do not qualify for an exemption and have been working are not working enough to meet the 80-hour requirement.For example, consider individuals with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or depression who steadily work enough hours to meet Arkansas’ monthly requirement for several months, but whose conditions worsen. There are far less costly and more effective solutions to support wellness and employment than work reporting requirements.Most adult Medicaid beneficiaries are already working. Losing coverage can lead to interruptions in treatment and contribute to worsening health and quality of life, erect barriers to employment, and cause financial hardship.The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people with disabilities from discrimination in public programs such as Medicaid and requires states to provide “reasonable modifications” (sometimes referred to as reasonable CMS has approved section 1115 waivers for Kentucky, Indiana, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin that would let those states also implement Medicaid work requirements.Since its passage in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been central to making significant progress in many areas of life for people with disabilities, and it remains a critical tool for advancing their well-being and dignity.
To learn more about Repairers of the Breach and the movement to build a moral agenda, visit These requirements don’t take into account that the majority of those who don’t meet them are caring for children or family members. Therefore, we are committed to anti-racism in all that we do. Arkansas’ efforts to inform Medicaid beneficiaries about the work requirements have not reached all beneficiaries, and advocates and providers have described the state’s written notices as confusing for beneficiaries.Rather than providing plain-language explanations of people’s rights under the ADA, Arkansas’ numerous notices typically only provide a phone number to call “if you have questions regarding this notice, including if you need an accessible format for individuals with disabilities,” offering no indication of reasonable modifications beyond getting accessible versions of the notice.Arkansas’ waiver requires the state to issue a “procedural desk guide” for its staff detailing the reasonable modification process, and to post the guide online. Yet Arkansas has placed the burden on people with disabilities to know their rights under the ADA and to determine how to request accommodations. This month, the Trump administration took the first steps toward trying to block a federal lawsuit that’s attempting to remove Arkansas’s Medicaid work requirements.
Change will not happen until we demand it, and we must demand that the people who are elected into these positions of power start putting the needs of the people above corporations and lobbyists.The Poor People’s Campaign is being led by Repairers of the Breach in partnership with national and local partners. Medicaid work requirements have …
Medicaid work reporting policies are “one-size-fits-all” requirements based on flawed assumptions and negative stereotypes. Work requirements would hurt Florida families, cost the state more money and add more red tape and paperwork for everyone. The only way this will happen, however, is if we unite our voices together and demand it. These requirements don’t … One Medicaid health plan has reported that many of the beneficiaries who receive case management to help manage their health conditions and find resources to meet their basic needs are subject to Arkansas’ work requirement, but there is no systematic effort to provide them with the help they likely need in navigating the work requirement.Even if everyone who qualified for an exemption received one, some people with disabilities would be subject to the work requirement. This additional caveat is even more detrimental to those who are already struggling with poor health issues or whose jobs are contractual or seasonal. In Arkansas, Medicaid recipients are required to either work 80 hours per month, attend school, volunteer or be actively searching for work. This month, the Trump administration took the first steps toward trying to block a federal lawsuit that’s attempting to remove Arkansas’s Medicaid work requirements. Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements Could Put At Least 6.3 Million Americans at Risk of Losing Health Care, Center for American Progress 01/12/18