CMS announced new guidance that will support state efforts to improve Medicaid enrollee health outcomes by incentivizing community engagement among able-bodied, working-age Medicaid beneficiaries.
The policy responds to numerous state requests to test programs through Medicaid demonstration projects under which work or participation in other community engagement activities – including skills training, education, job search, volunteering or caregiving – would be a condition for Medicaid eligibility for able-bodied, working-age adults. This would exclude individuals eligible for Medicaid due to a disability, elderly beneficiaries, children, and pregnant women.
The policy guidance sent to states is intended to help them design demonstration projects that promote the objectives of the Medicaid program and are consistent with federal statutory requirements. To achieve the objectives of Medicaid, state programs should be designed to promote better physical and mental health.
To date, CMS has received demonstration project proposals from 10 states that include employment and community engagement initiatives: Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.
CMS has identified a number of issues for states to consider in the development of proposals to promote work and other community engagement among working-age, non-pregnant Medicaid beneficiaries not eligible for Medicaid on the basis of a disability.
Meeting work and community engagement requirements should take into consideration areas of high unemployment or caregiving for young children or elderly family members. States will therefore be required to describe strategies to assist eligible individuals in meeting work and community engagement requirements and to link individuals to additional resources for job training, provided they do not use federal Medicaid funding to finance these services.
CMS will support state efforts to align Medicaid work and community engagement requirements with SNAP or TANF requirements, where appropriate, as part of this demonstration opportunity. Aligning requirements across these programs may streamline eligibility and reduce the burden on both states and beneficiaries and help beneficiaries succeed in meeting their work and community engagement responsibilities.
CMS also encourages states to consider a range of activities that could satisfy work and community engagement requirements. States should ensure that career planning, job training, referral, and volunteering opportunities considered to meet the community engagement requirement, and job support services offered in connection with the requirement, take into account people’s employability and potential contributions to the labor market.
