Kentucky Officials Warn Work Requirements Could Strip Coverage
Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services secretary Steven Stack says new Medicaid work-reporting requirements, stemming from federal HR 1 and state House Bill 2, take effect Jan. 1, with self-attestation allowed during a phase-in year before stricter verification begins in 2028. Most adults aged 19-64 who gained coverage through the state's 2014 Medicaid expansion, about 450,000 Kentuckians, will need to show they are working, in school or volunteering and verify eligibility every six months; traditional Medicaid enrollees such as pregnant women, people with disabilities and nursing home residents are largely unaffected. Stack said "tens of thousands" in Kentucky could lose coverage due to paperwork or documentation issues rather than ineligibility, echoing a national Robert Wood Johnson Foundation estimate of 5 to 10 million people losing coverage by 2028. House Bill 2 also adds small copays and tightens reporting rules, with most state changes beginning Jan. 1, 2027; Democratic lawmakers held listening sessions across the state to gather public input on the changes.