Federal rule sets 80-hour work requirement for Alaska Medicaid adults

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an interim final rule June 1 requiring certain Alaska Medicaid enrollees to complete 80 hours of work or related activities each month to keep coverage starting January 1, 2027.

The rule applies to non-elderly, non-disabled adults in the Medicaid expansion population. Alaska expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in 2015 to cover low-income adults up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The new federal requirement applies to enrollees ages 19 through 64 unless they qualify for an exemption.

Qualifying activities include employment, participation in a work program, enrollment in an educational program at least half-time, community service, or a combination of these.

Exemptions include Alaska Natives who are members of federally recognized tribes, parents and caregivers of young children, pregnant and postpartum individuals, medically frail people, foster youth under age 26, and individuals already meeting TANF or SNAP work requirements.

States must implement the requirement no later than January 1, 2027.