On Monday, July 29, New Hampshire’s proposed Medicaid work and community engagement requirement (WCER) was struck down by the same D.C. district court federal judge that previously struck down WCERs in Arkansas and Kentucky.
As in his previous rulings, Judge James E. Boasberg asserted that the decision to approve the New Hampshire WCER by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was “arbitrary and capricious” and did not account for the potential coverage losses for thousands of low-income residents. Arkansas and Kentucky arguments are expected to be heard by the D.C. Court of Appeals in August.
In other HHS Medicaid waiver news, Utah’s request for enhanced funding for partial expansion was denied by HHS on Friday, July 26. The denial is consistent with HHS’ decision in March 2018 on Arkansas’s waiver request for enhanced funding for partial expansion.
