Arizona House Approves Job Requirement For Medicaid Recipients

Published: Thursday, March 6, 2014 - 3:06pm
Updated: Thursday, March 6, 2014 - 3:12pm

The state House of Representatives has approved a measure that would require Medicaid recipients to find work.

House Bill 2367 would require the director of Arizona’s Medicaid program, known as AHCCCS, to ask the federal government for waivers to its program. Those waivers would allow the state to require eligible Arizonans to get a job, or actively look for a job and attend a job training program. The waiver would also allow Arizona to limit eligibility to a maximum of five years.

Federal officials have said the proposals are unlikely to be approved.

Thursday’s vote was along party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed.

Last year, Governor Brewer pushed for an expansion of Medicaid, under the Affordable Care Act. A coalition of Democrats and a handful of Republicans eventually approved that plan, after long and often rancorous debate.