Meidcaid recipients to get work requirements

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is rewriting the rules on health care for the poor. The administration said Thursday it will allow states to require “able-bodied” Medicaid recipients to work, a hotly debated first in the program’s half-century history.

Seema Verma (SEE’-muh VUHR’-muh), head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says requiring work or community involvement can make a positive difference in people’s lives and in their health.

But critics of the move say work requirements will become one more hoop for low-income people to jump through, and many could be denied needed coverage because of technicalities and challenging new paperwork. Lawsuits are expected as individual states roll out work requirements.