For Nebraska: A Work Requirement by Any Other Name … Will Still Be Struck Down in Court

To date, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved Medicaid work requirement waivers in 11 states, accepting states’ various justifications for adding onerous requirements that likely lead to significant losses in coverage. However, lawsuits have been filed challenging CMS’ approval of five states’ work requirements. Now, to avoid litigation, states are introducing work requirements that are supposedly less severe. But these burdensome requirements may still fail to pass legal muster and are still vulnerable to lawsuits.

As outlined in our analysis, Nebraska’s application for a work requirement includes many of the same justifications as other states’ applications — justifications that have been challenged and refuted in court. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before Nebraska faces the same legal challenges, resulting in the same verdicts striking down the work requirements as a violation of the Medicaid statute.

Click here for details on the justifications Nebraska relies on in its application, along with how similar justifications from other states have been treated in the courts. The public comment period for this proposed waiver is open until January 17^th. You can use this form to submit comments.