Comment on CMS-2026-2047-0002
Christine AlbaneseOpposeIndividual
Summary: The commenter opposes the proposed Medicaid community engagement requirement, arguing that it is logically infeasible for many recipients to meet the work hours due to age, disability, or other life circumstances. They contend that the policy will lead to a loss of medical care for vulnerable individuals and place an undue burden on local governments and the economy.
The point of Medicaid is to provide medical care for individuals who otherwise are unable to work, or are working but unable to earn enough income to pay for health insurance. Given these existing criteria for Medicaid eligibility, it is unlikely the majority of Medicaid recipients would be able to perform the work requirement, whether paid or unpaid, therefore this requirement is logically infeasible. If work requirements cannot be met by the individual, even with stated exceptions, then the individual would lose Medicaid. This would very likely lead to no medical care at all for the individual, or leading to unmanageable debt. If some work requirements are able to be performed by the individual, it is unlikely the full 80 hours per month will be possible to be achieved due to their age, disability, medical condition, or living situation (e.g. childcare needs, lack of transportation, etc.). This policy on its face appears to be engineered to remove individuals from Medicaid without sufficient replacement supports, and from its logical follow-through effects would weaken our nation by causing undue burden upon local governments and, paradoxical to its stated intention, reducing the available workforce causing negative effects upon the US economy.