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Lawsuit challenging Michigan’s Medicaid work requirements filed in federal court

LANSING, MI (MPRN)--   Four Michigan residents, on behalf of more than half a million people who would have to work, have filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s new Medicaid expansion work requirements. 

Last year, the state submitted a waiver to the federal government. The waiver requested permission to make Healthy Michigan eligibility dependent on certain work requirements. The waiver was granted, and the new rules are scheduled to go into effect after the first of the year in 2020.

Enrollees aged 19 to 62 would have to participate in work or “work-related activities” for 80 hours per month. That’s unless they fall into an exception like being a student or medically frail.

The lawsuit argues that the federal government never should have granted the waiver. It says the new rules violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Medicaid Act.

Supporters of the work requirement say it promotes upward mobility and helps people be more self-sufficient.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R