[Author: Regina DeSantis, Law Clerk]
On Friday, February 12, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) took a first step to ending Medicaid work requirements. Acting CMS Administration Elizabeth Richter sent letters to Medicaid Directors in states which had previously received 1115 waiver approvals to implement so-called “community engagement” requirements, explaining CMS now does not believe that requiring employment as a condition for Medicaid coverage promotes the program’s objectives and intends to commence a process of determining whether to withdraw the waiver approvals. States have 30 days to send CMS information to the contrary. States receiving letters included: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin.