蜜桃传媒

In June, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services鈥� (HHS鈥�) initial approval of the plan. The court found that HHS failed to adequately consider whether it would help Kentucky provide Medicaid coverage to its low-income residents.

Kentucky鈥檚 waiver plan, called 鈥淜entucky HEALTH,鈥� was set to take effect on July 1. But the 蜜桃传媒 and its partners filed a class action lawsuit, , challenging the Trump administration鈥檚 approval of sweeping changes to Medicaid law that would endanger the health care of tens of thousands of low-income individuals and families in the state.

As a result of the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg sent the plan back to HHS to reconsider it in accordance with the Medicaid Act.

However, federal health officials announced yesterday that they had approved Kentucky鈥檚 Medicaid work requirements again, despite evidence that the plan will lead to hundreds of thousands of hard-working Kentuckians losing access to vital health care coverage.

鈥淪ame thing, different results: That鈥檚 what HHS hopes to achieve by reapproving Kentucky鈥檚 Medicaid waiver application without any meaningful changes,鈥� said Samuel Brooke, deputy legal director for the 蜜桃传媒. 鈥淲e intend to pursue the next court challenge as vigorously as we have before when we won. We have no reason to believe that the results will be any different this time.鈥�

In his June ruling, Boasberg said the government had acted in an 鈥渁rbitrary and capricious" manner in approving Kentucky鈥檚 Medicaid waiver plan. The plan included numerous illegal obstacles to accessing Medicaid health care services, such as requiring Kentucky residents to work in order to receive medical benefits.

鈥淜entucky HEALTH runs directly counter to the purpose of the Medicaid Act, which is to furnish health care coverage to low-income individuals and families,鈥� National Health Law Program Legal Director said. 鈥淢edicaid is a health care program, not a jobs-training program.鈥�