FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Paul, MN — The Minnesota Budget Project submitted a letter the Minnesota Budget Project sent to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz as part of the public comment period for recently proposed federal restrictions that could cause health coverage loss for more Minnesotans under Medicaid work reporting requirements. The organization is concerned that the proposed rule ignores the reality of serious and complex medical conditions and restricts Minnesota’s ability to mitigate health coverage loss when implementing work reporting requirements.
Among the Minnesota Budget Project’s concerns are:
Changes to medical frailty are restrictive and ignore the reality of serious and complex medical conditions. Changes in the interim final rule will reduce the number of people who can qualify for an exemption to work requirements for reasons of medical frailty. Narrowing this exemption and subjecting these folks to work reporting requirements that will be difficult for them to meet will likely lead to adverse health effects caused by disruptions to their health care.
The guidance significantly limits self-attestation, thereby restricting Minnesota’s ability to implement work reporting requirements in a way that reduces the number of people that unnecessarily lose their coverage. For example, limiting an individual from self-attesting that they have a condition impairing their ability to work in 2028 and beyond will create even more burdensome paperwork for people and states.
The interim final rule creates an unfeasible timeline for states to implement work reporting requirements. These new restrictions come late, as Minnesota works under a compressed timeline to implement Medicaid work reporting requirements starting January 1, 2027.