WASHINGTON — In a major policy shift that could affect millions of low-income people, the Trump administration said Thursday it is offering a path for states that want to seek work requirements on Medicaid recipients.

Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said work and community involvement can make a positive difference in people's lives and in their health. Still, the plan probably will face strong political opposition and even legal challenges over concerns people would lose coverage.

The administration's latest action spells out safeguards that states should consider to obtain federal approval for waivers imposing work requirements on "able-bodied" adults. Technically, those waivers would be "demonstration projects." In practical terms, they would represent new requirements for beneficiaries in those states.

The administration said 10 states — mostly conservative ones — have applied for waivers involving work requirements or community involvement. They are: Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin. Advocates for low-income people say they expect Kentucky's waiver to be approved shortly.

"Medicaid needs to be more flexible so that states can best address the needs of this population," Verma said in a statement. "Our fundamental goal is to make a positive and lasting difference in the health and wellness of our beneficiaries." For close to a year, the administration has signaled an interest in helping states that want to institute work requirements.

Advocates for low-income people said work has never been a requirement for Medicaid, a program originally intended as a health program for the poor and disabled. It now covers a broad cross-section of people, from many newborns to elderly nursing home residents, and increasingly working adults.

"It is a very major change in Medicaid that for the first time would allow people to be cut off for not meeting a work requirement, regardless of the hardship they may suffer," said Judy Solomon of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which advocates for the poor. The Obama administration would have never approved such waivers, she added.

slugsrbad wrote:Walmart is increasing wages and extending some benefits in response to tax bill. Companies/ceos are playing this semi-smart. By making minor adjustments like this (which they had the resource/wealth) to do prior to the bill they add the threat of rolling back wages if taxes go up under a Democratic President.

PA-01: The FBI is investigating allegations that longtime Philadelphia Democratic Rep. Bob Brady paid off a primary opponent to drop out of a race six years ago. Two of Brady’s consultants have already been charged in the case. But Brady has no plans to step aside, setting up yet another Philadelphia congressional primary focused on the ethics of an entrenched incumbent. (Rep. Chaka Fattah lost in a Democratic primary two years ago after being indicted on corruption charges; Fattah is now in federal prison.) Former Deputy Mayor Nina Ahmad has already loaned herself $600,000 for the race against Brady. An expensive fight against a machine politician in a critical swing state may not be the battle the Democratic establishment needs right now, but it’s the one they’ve got.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case regarding Ohio's system of voter roll maintenance. And, despite the dissolution last week of a high-profile presidential commission on election integrity and the planned destruction of the records from it, the Trump administration has made it clear that it will continue to investigate possible voter fraud. The responsibility will shift from the commission, which was co-chaired by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, to the Department of Homeland Security.

The case questions the legality of Ohio's approach to keeping its voter registration rolls up to date. When citizens fail to vote in federal elections for two years, the state sends them a letter inquiring whether they're still residing at that address. If they fail to respond, the state can remove them from the voting rolls. In 2015 and 2016, Ohio purged 426,781 voters this way.

Meanwhile, more than half the states participate in Crosscheck, a system for comparing voter registration information promulgated by Kobach. The system has been criticized for its error rate, but states that are participating in both Crosscheck and ERIC say that the former gives them greater ability to check duplicate registrations across states.

Kobach championed a law in his conservative state of Kansas to require individuals to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, but it's been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and is going to trial in March.

At the same time, in Washington state, where Democrats won control of all the political branches in November, a bill was just introduced to allow for same-day registration and automatic registration for voters.

If Kobach prevails in his case against the ACLU, the Trump administration may introduce legislation to make proof-of-citizenship a federal policy. But voting security laws that have been introduced in Congress aren't moving swiftly. The outcome of the Supreme Court's Ohio case could change that.

slugsrbad wrote:Speaking of #$!&@ racists, Arpaio is running for Senate in AZ.

"I'm going to tell you again that that document is a forgery document," Arpaio told WABC's Rita Cosby."And nobody will touch it."

"I wanted to get it to Congress so they can pass some type of law - regulation - that when somebody runs for president you ought to check their background, so this won't happen again," he added. "But I can't get anybody - anybody - to even look at it."

thephan wrote:They are carelessly letting him talk to the press. He's been edgy, and if they don't give him the hook, he might melt down. I'll need to see the new later today. I off ramped when he was going off on Hillary not being interviewed under oath about who knows what, which included the Dems being the Russian colluders. He's reliving the election win, and his greatness.

pacino wrote:

slugsrbad wrote:Walmart is increasing wages and extending some benefits in response to tax bill. Companies/ceos are playing this semi-smart. By making minor adjustments like this (which they had the resource/wealth) to do prior to the bill they add the threat of rolling back wages if taxes go up under a Democratic President.

yeah, what a show; they've been sitting on cash for years and years and finally decide to use a little of it (and it was previously announced) so they can ensure they keep their ridiculous new tax breaks

pacino wrote:

slugsrbad wrote:Speaking of #$!&@ racists, Arpaio is running for Senate in AZ.

still on that birther tip:

"I'm going to tell you again that that document is a forgery document," Arpaio told WABC's Rita Cosby."And nobody will touch it."

"I wanted to get it to Congress so they can pass some type of law - regulation - that when somebody runs for president you ought to check their background, so this won't happen again," he added. "But I can't get anybody - anybody - to even look at it."

Gimpy wrote:He could probably talk a lot on how to imprison people for being brown despite not being accused of a crime and how to cost his city (or was it state?) millions of dollars in lawsuits.