Washington, D.C. — (June 3, 2026) Yesterday 48 non-profit, non-partisan patient organizations issued a statement in response to the interim final rule implementing the new Medicaid work reporting requirement provisions in Public Law 119-21.
“Throughout the legislative process, lawmakers repeatedly promised that the patients we represent would not be harmed by the policies that terminate Medicaid coverage for millions of in Public Law 119-21. Our organizations are deeply concerned the interim final rule does not protect people with serious or complex health conditions and would instead dramatically and inappropriately increase the number of people who will lose their healthcare coverage.”
“Redefining the law’s medical frailty exemption to only apply to individuals who can prove they cannot work and drastically limiting the ability of states to accept self-attestation from patients about compliance and exemptions starting in 2028 clearly conflicts with the law. These policies will place massive paperwork burdens on patients and providers, upend months of planning by states and create chaos just months away from the January 2027 implementation deadline.”
“While it is impossible to fully shield patients from the impact of the devastating cuts coming to the Medicaid program, our groups are committed to working with federal and state policymakers throughout the implementation process to set policies that protect access to Medicaid. We urge CMS to adopt a definition of medical frailty and processes to document compliance that protect patients and are consistent with the law.”
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