Iowa has a new law that will require tens of thousands of Medicaid recipients to fulfill work requirements or risk losing their health care.
But the work requirements won’t kick in until the state receives approval from the Trump administration.
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the law on June 6. Here’s what to know.
What does Iowa’s law on Medicaid work requirements say?
The law says that able-bodied adults on the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan — the state’s Medicaid expansion program — must work 80 hours per month or earn the equivalent wages to qualify for health care coverage.
They can also fulfill the requirement if they are enrolled in an educational or job skills program.
Is Iowa’s Medicaid work requirement law in effect yet?
No. The law directs the state to seek a waiver from the federal government that will allow Iowa to implement Medicaid work requirements.
Reynolds submitted a preliminary waiver request on April 15. But she said last week that state officials are still tweaking the details before submitting a final request.
If approved, the law would take effect July 1.
After that, Iowans would have six months to come into compliance.
Are there exceptions to Iowa’s Medicaid law?
Yes. The law requires the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to exempt Iowans from the work requirements if:
How many Medicaid members would have to work to receive health care?
There are about 182,000 Iowans enrolled in the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan.
Of those, the state expects about 171,000 people would be affected by the work requirements.
In total, there are roughly 700,000 Iowans enrolled in Medicaid.
Could Iowans lose health care as a result of the law?
State officials estimate the average monthly enrollment would fall from about 171,000 to about 131,000 enrollees by year five during the five-year implementation period of these work requirements.
That drop in enrollment would result in about $49 million in cost savings for the state by 2030, per the state’s estimates.
The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency has estimated 32,000 Iowans could lose coverage if the law’s 80-hour-a-month work requirements become law.
Want to learn more about Iowa’s Medicaid work requirements?
Learn much more the work requirements and how they will affect Iowa here.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
This story was updated to add a gallery.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Catch up on Iowa’s new Medicaid work requirements law, in less than 2 minutes
Reporting by Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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