Fourteen faculty and researchers from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) officially submitted comments today in response to the state of Virginia’s proposed Medicaid work experiment.
More than a dozen states have now proposed Medicaid work experiments under § 1115 of the Social Security Act that have either been approved or are moving toward review and approval. Virginia’s experiment was enacted as part of the 2018 Virginia Acts of Assembly - Chapter 2, which expanded the state’s Medicaid program to include non-pregnant adults ages 19 to 64 with incomes up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level beginning on January 1, 2019.
The Act also adds new features to the Medicaid program which are “designed to empower individuals to improve their health and well-being and gain employer-sponsored coverage or other commercial health insurance coverage.”
The comments submitted by the Milken Institute SPH researchers describe what they perceive to be the fundamental flaws with this (or any other) mandatory Medicaid work demonstration.
A copy of the comments is available below.