The Hill….
A federal judge has blocked a controversial Medicaid waiver in Kentucky that was set to go into effect Sunday and would have imposed work requirements on beneficiaries.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that the administration never adequately considered whether the work requirements and other restrictions would violate the program’s central purpose of providing medical assistance to vulnerable citizens.
“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,” Boasberg said in his decision. “This signal omission renders his determination arbitrary and capricious.”
The 60-page ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the Trump administration’s approval of Kentucky’s waiver and sent it back to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for further review.
The decision by Boasberg, who was appointed by former President Obama, is a blow to Republican governors and the Trump administration who have sought to turn Medicaid into a much more conservative program….