By Harris Meyer
June 30, 2018 - Modern Healthcare
In a blow to the
Trump administration, a federal district judge has invalidated the CMS' approval
of Kentucky's unprecedented Medicaid waiver, which includes a work requirement,
blocking the July 1 implementation of the program.
Judge James Boasberg
of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., held that HHS Secretary Alex
Azar's approval of the waiver in January was arbitrary and capricious because it
failed to take into account the primary objective of the Medicaid statute, which
he said is to furnish medical assistance.
"Although the Secretary is
afforded significant deference in his approval of pilot projects like
Kentucky's, his discretion does not insulate him entirely from judicial review.
Such review reveals that the Secretary never adequately considered whether
Kentucky HEALTH would in fact help the state furnish medical assistance to its
citizens, a central objective of Medicaid. This omission renders his
determination arbitrary and capricious. The Court, consequently, will vacate the
approval of Kentucky's project and remand the matter to HHS for further
review."
The U.S. Justice Department and HHS had argued that requiring
Medicaid beneficiaries to work or participate in "community engagement"
activities was within the purposes of the Medicaid statute because that would
improve the health and well-being of beneficiaries.
Kentucky GOP Gov.
Matt Bevin, who pushed hard for the waiver after first promising to end his
state's Medicaid expansion, previously had expressed "absolute confidence that
the waiver will prevail against this baseless challenge."