Child care challenges for Medicaid work requirements
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Adams, Gina, author Allen, Eva H., author Gangopadhyaya, Anuj, author Kenney, Genevieve M., author
- Contributor(s):
- Urban Institute, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : Urban Institute, September 2019
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Child Care Eligibility Determination Employment Medicaid United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- In January 2018, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued guidance allowing state Medicaid agencies to implement "community engagement" requirements, which require enrollees subject to the requirements to engage in and report on work or designated work-related activities. Since that time, several states have proposed, and some received, the administrations approval to implement such requirements (hereafter called work requirements) in their Medicaid programs. Concerns have been raised that these work requirements could lead to significant losses of Medicaid coverage, even among recipients who qualify for exemptions or comply with the work requirements but do not successfully report their hours. Some parents potentially subject to work requirements will struggle to find child care necessary to be able to participate in work activities--a challenge facing many parents across the country regardless of whether they face work requirements. In 9 of the 16 states with pending or approved Medicaid work requirement waivers as of August 15, 2019, the requirements will apply to some parents with children at home younger than 18. Among these nine states, Alabama and South Dakota have proposed to exempt parents of children under age 1 (though South Dakotas waiver only affects two counties in the state); Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah would exempt parents living with children ages 6 and under; Indiana would exempt parents with children ages 7 and under; and under its revised plan, New Hampshire would exempt parents living with children ages 12 and under. Child care challenges will vary by state, with greater challenges anticipated in states requiring parents with younger children to participate. This report explores key questions about the implications of Medicaid work requirements for low-income parents with children. Specifically, will parents need to find child care to comply? Will parents be able to afford care, and if not, can they get help paying for it? Are parents likely able to find care that meets their needs (i.e., care that is affordable, good quality, accessible, and available during the hours they need it)? What happens if parents can't find care that meets their needs? And could parents still lose Medicaid benefits even if they comply? The report concludes with a discussion of policy implications for the findings.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (ix, 28 pages))
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101772078 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101772078