AHCCCS work requirements could hurt qualified recipients, advocates warn

PHOENIX – The federal government approved new work requirements for Arizona’s Medicaid program Friday, changes that child advocates fear could result in qualified recipients losing their health coverage.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services agreed to let the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System implement “community engagement” requirements.

Under the new plan, certain adults who get health coverage through AHCCCS must perform and report a monthly quota of qualified work or volunteer activities to remain eligible for benefits.

“By aligning educational and employment incentives and providing robust job search support services and educational opportunities, Arizona can create pathways toward better health outcomes and employment opportunities for our citizens,” Gov. Doug Ducey said in a press release.

Thanks to the efforts of Governor @dougducey & his team, #Arizona is now the 8th state w/ approval to operate a community engagement program under the state's 1115 demonstration project, & the 1st to include an exemption for federally recognized tribes. https://t.co/493CkxVcJ4

— Administrator Seema Verma (@SeemaCMS) January 18, 2019

The program, called AHCCCS Works, can’t start before Jan. 1, 2020. Members will get three months to become familiar with the system.

It will require able-bodied people ages 19 to 49 to participate in job training, life skills training, job searching, community service and employment for at least 80 hours per month and report their activity online, in person or over the phone.

“Members who fail to report their 80 hours of community engagement activities will have their AHCCCS coverage suspended for the period of two months and then be automatically reinstated,” AHCCCS spokeswoman Heidi Capriotti told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday.

Siman Qaasim, director of health policy for the Children’s Action Alliance, an Arizona advocacy group, said the new requirements aren’t needed for the state to provide job support and could cause “unintended consequences.”

She told KTAR News that politicians don’t appear to understand the difficulties many AHCCCS recipients face, especially those in rural areas where there aren’t many job opportunities and internet access is limited.

“They’re just setting up hoops and barriers for them to jump through that could really just mean that they lose coverage and lose their job,” Qaasim said.

Today AZ became the 8th state to receive approval for a community engagement program for able bodied adults, and the 1st state to exempt federally recognized tribal members. https://t.co/HLa5CAg6dI pic.twitter.com/S5Py9RlNFZ

— AHCCCS (@AHCCCSgov) January 18, 2019

Arizona is the eighth state to gain approval for this type of program.

“This is already being tried out in Arkansas,” Qaasim said. “In four months … over 18,000 people have lost coverage, and we know that some of those folks were working already but just got hung up or didn’t understand how to report or couldn’t find ways to prove they were reporting.”

Not all AHCCCS members will be subject to the new requirements. The list of exemptions includes, but is not limited to, tribal members, women who gave birth within 60 days, people with serious mental illnesses, domestic violence survivors and full-time students.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ashley Flood and Griselda Zetino contributed to this report.

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