A federal judge has invalidated Michigan’s Medicaid work requirements, weeks after a U.S. appeals court affirmed his decision to strike down similar rules elsewhere. The short order came from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C. today. He earlier invalidated Arkansas’ requirement that low-income people work for government-provided health insurance, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to remake Medicaid. Four Michigan residents sued the federal government in November, with assistance from advocacy groups. Governor Whitmer’s administration asked for a quick ruling, saying there was no dispute that Michigan’s requirements are illegal, too.
The requirements took effect on January 1 after being passed and signed by former Governor Rick Snyder in 2018.
Governor Whitmer issued a statement after the ruling, saying she was “pleased that the court has taken action that will help Michigan provide affordable, high-quality access to health care. This is great news for Michiganders, although it is not surprising given a previous federal court decision regarding Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas. While it’s unfortunate that Republicans in the Legislature created confusion and wasted tens of millions of taxpayer dollars by pressing forward with implementation of requirements that were clearly going to be thrown out by the courts, I look forward to working with the Legislature on a better way to promote work while protecting coverage.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
