Association Urges CMS to Streamline Hardship, Medical Frailty Exemptions in Medicaid Work Requirements Implementation

America's Essential Hospitals has shared concerns with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding preliminary guidance on the community engagement requirements of the Working Families Tax Cut legislation. The association urged CMS to create pathways to streamline Medicaid enrollment for patients who qualify for hardship and medical frailty exemptions so that essential hospitals can provide the urgent care their patients need.

Specifically, the association:

• Urged CMS to provide exemptions from community engagement requirements during hospitalization and post-discharge recovery for eligible patients
• Urged CMS to enable providers to help patients apply for medical frailty exemptions when they are newly diagnosed with a qualifying condition and support continuous coverage
• Urged CMS to target Medicaid funding for community engagement supports at hospitals

Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at [email protected] or 202.585.0127 with questions.