Attorney General Phil Weiser sues Trump administration for unlawful implementation of Medicaid work requirements for medically frail individuals

Attorney General Phil Weiser sues Trump administration for unlawful implementation of Medicaid work requirements for medically frail individuals

June 29, 2026 (DENVER) - As part of a coalition of 24 attorneys general and two governors, Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced a lawsuit over the Trump administration's unlawful implementation of new Medicaid work requirements included in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Congress created exemptions from Medicaid's work requirements to ensure that people with serious illnesses and disabilities do not lose coverage or face interruptions in care. Despite months of working with states on implementation, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services surprised states with an interim final rule on June 3, 2026, which adopted a new interpretation of key terms like "medically frail" and makes it harder for medically vulnerable individuals to be excused from the work requirements.

While the work requirement provision begins January 1, 2027, states must notify Medicaid recipients about these changes by August 31, 2026, and need significant lead time to prepare those communications. The states cannot wait for CMS to address the deficiencies through the ongoing rulemaking process. As a result, the attorneys general are seeking to block implementation of the interim final rule's illegal provisions and to have them ultimately struck down.

"States had already made substantial investments relying on the plain language of the law and CMS's prior guidance and now face the risk of harsh financial penalties for noncompliance with the Medicaid work requirements interim final rule," said Attorney General Weiser. "The interim final rule creates administrative burdens and unnecessary red tape that put eligible people at risk of losing their health coverage - including those who are already working or qualify for an exemption. We're filing this lawsuit to make sure Coloradans who rely on Medicaid get the health care they need."

Past Medicaid work requirement programs have shown that added red tape causes eligible people to lose coverage, placing greater strain on state Medicaid programs, safety net providers, and emergency rooms, while increasing costs as more medically frail residents become uninsured.

In today's lawsuit, the coalition alleges that the interim final rule:

• Unlawfully narrows Congress's protections for medically frail Medicaid recipients.
• Violates the Administrative Procedure Act by ignoring substantial evidence that work reporting requirements cause eligible individuals to lose healthcare coverage because of administrative barriers rather than a failure to work.
• Fails to adequately consider the significant harms that will be imposed on states, Medicaid beneficiaries, healthcare providers, and state healthcare systems.
• Unconstitutionally coerces states by imposing new compliance requirements after states had already begun implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act based on the statute's plain language and CMS's prior guidance.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport are co-leading the lawsuit. They are joined by Attorney General Weiser and the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Read the lawsuit Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al. v. Mehmet Oz, et al. (PDF).

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