Connecticut Considers Work Requirement Bill for Certain Medicaid Enrollees

March 2018 ~

Connecticut lawmakers have introduced a bill that would implement work or volunteer requirements for adult Medicaid recipients and prohibit the Department of Social Services (DSS) from removing work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.

If passed, the bill would require Connecticut DSS to apply for a federal waiver allowing the state to impose work or community service requirements on certain able-bodied, adult Medicaid recipients.

The bill also would prohibit DSS from applying for a federal waiver that drops current work requirements for food stamp recipients who do not have dependents and live in areas with higher unemployment rates and job scarcity.

According to the state’s DSS, approximately 800,000 residents are enrolled in Medicaid and 400,000 residents (or 200,000 households) are enrolled in food stamps. Funding for Medicaid is provided by the state and federal governments, while the food stamps program is fully funded by the federal government.

Current federal legislation mandates that states require these individuals ages 18 to 50 to meet work requirements to be eligible for the state food stamp program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), for more than three months during a 36-month period, according to DSS.

Under the bill, a number of Medicaid recipients still would be exempt from work or community service requirements, including those under 18 years old and over 64, people with disabilities, pregnant women, the sole caretaker of a dependent child or a person with disabilities, and a student enrolled full-time in either a secondary or post-secondary school. Extensions would be granted to those who live in higher unemployment areas and for those unable to find or afford transportation to employment/community service.

Source(s): CT Mirror; Connecticut Health Foundation;