State officials are looking to impose a work requirement on a small number of Medicaid recipients.
Governor Kay Ivey’s office says the state will seek permission from the federal government to make that change to its Medicaid program. The proposal will only impact able-bodied parents of children under 19 who qualify for Medicaid because their family income is at or below 18 percent of the federal poverty level. That’s about $247 a month for a family of two.
The Alabama Medicaid Agency says the new requirement would impact up to 75,000 of the state’s one million Medicaid recipients. Under the proposal, those recipients would have to prove they have a job or are engaged in a job search or training to continue receiving Medicaid benefits.
There are very few able-bodied adults on Medicaid in Alabama. The majority of recipients are children, disabled or elderly.
