Manatt Professionals Quoted Across Major News Outlets on Medicaid Work Requirement Rules 

A variety of Manatt professionals spoke with national news outlets on the administration's new rules implementing Medicaid work requirements, including Partner , Senior Managing Director , Partner , Managing Director Dr.  and Partner . 

Following the June 1 release of a CMS rule implementing work requirements under H.R. 1, Serafi, Guyer, Mann, Dr. Gupta and Gold offered analysis on the rule's implications for states, patients and the broader Medicaid program. The rule drew widespread criticism for its stricter-than-expected “medically frail” exemption, which requires enrollees to demonstrate that a qualifying condition significantly impairs their ability to work, a standard not found in the statute itself. 

Serafi spoke with Associated Press, Axios, STAT News, KFF Health News and The Hill, noting that the rule represents a significant policy shift from the plain language of the statute and the guidance states had been operating under. “The administration has actually taken what we know to be a tough situation and has just made it even worse,” Serafi told KFF Health News, adding in Associated Press, “States are going to be asked to make a determination using information that doesn’t exist in their systems.” She also told The Hill that the stricter two-step process means that a diagnosis alone is no longer sufficient: “Now it has to be a two-step process that you are in active cancer treatment, and the active cancer treatment is prohibiting you from meeting the work requirements of 80 hours a month.” 

Guyer was quoted in CNN, warning that the rule will increase the number of people who lose coverage and impose significant burdens on enrollees with serious conditions. “It is going to impose a lot more burdens to keeping coverage on people who have very serious conditions for whom loss of coverage can be catastrophic,” Guyer told CNN. 

Mann was cited in The New York Times, noting that the new definition would be challenging for states to implement using existing data sources. “This is not a simple determination,” Mann told the Times. 

Dr. Gupta spoke with POLITICO, raising concerns about the burden the rule places on physicians and the challenge it poses for patients with chronic conditions whose ability to work fluctuates. “Physicians are increasingly being asked to function not simply as clinicians but as arbiters of this very complex bureaucratic eligibility,” Dr. Gupta told POLITICO. 

Gold spoke with Law360, warning that the rule conflicts with clear statutory language and will result in coverage losses for vulnerable populations. “The CMS final rule conflicts with the clear statutory language, upends states' implementation efforts, and most importantly, will mean more eligible people, especially people with serious medical needs and disabilities, lose Medicaid coverage across the country,” Gold told Law360. 

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