Federal court judges sharply question Medicaid work requirements

A federal appeals court last week sharply questioned the Trump administration’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients, casting doubt on a key part of a governmentwide effort to place conditions on low-income people seeking taxpayer-financed assistance (Source: “U.S. appeals court skeptical of Trump’s Medicaid work rules,” Associated Press, Oct. 11, 2019).

All three judges on a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lobbed hard questions at a Justice Department lawyer defending the policy at a hearing. The administration is appealing after losing the first round before a lower court.

At issue is whether a program created by Congress to provide medical care to the poor can also encourage low-income people to try to move up in society and make that a condition for them to keep getting help.