WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal judge in Boston issued a mixed ruling today in Massachusetts v Oz, a case brought by 25 states and the District of Columbia challenging the Interim Final Rule (IFR) issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implementing Medicaid work requirements. Judge Richard Stearns struck down the IFR’s improper narrowing of the exclusion for “medically frail” individuals but left intact some administratively burdensome elements of the rule that will lead to loss of coverage. ACS CAN and 70 other groups submitted an amicus brief in this case, highlighting the life-threatening impact the IFR’s definition of medical frailty would have on patients with serious and chronic illness nationwide, especially cancer patients and survivors. In response to the decision, Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) issued the following statement:
“We are very pleased to see the ruling on medical frailty by the federal judge in Boston, which removes the burdensome test of proving an inability to work to qualify for the exception. But we remain concerned about unnecessary administrative burdens, like limitations on the use of self-attestation, that will result in coverage losses. Behind these legal definitions are real people who will lose the Medicaid insurance coverage that gives them access to lifesaving care like cancer treatments and screenings. Having health insurance is one of the most significant factors in whether someone survives a cancer diagnosis. Millions of people across the country are currently living in fear that access to their only affordable, quality health insurance option will be taken away from them. Individuals who qualify for Medicaid and meet the work requirements may still lose coverage because of the paperwork, reporting obligations and administrative hurdles required to verify their eligibility. For cancer patients, it’s a matter of life or death.”
This week, ACS CAN and 31 other healthcare and civil rights groups filed an amicus brief in another case, Taylor v. Kennedy, that also challenges the medical frailty definition in the IFR.
###