In December 2024, the Ohio Department of Medicaid issued notice of a public comment period for the Group VIII Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver Application. While we recognize this waiver application is required by Ohio law (House Bill 33, 135th General Assembly), The Center for Community Solutions opposes this waiver as it will undermine the core purpose of the Medicaid program, which is to provide health coverage to eligible Ohioans who have low incomes.
Efforts to institute work requirements for Medicaid and other public benefit programs ignore the unstable nature of low-wage jobs and Ohio’s labor market conditions, the discrimination that keeps women and people of color from better job opportunities, the lack of affordable childcare and paid leave, and the reality that health issues, caregiving responsibilities, and external economic forces make steady work difficult for many.
This waiver proposal also runs counter to important work happening across state agencies in Ohio, including the meaningful employment initiative led by the Ohio Departments of Medicaid (ODM) and Job and Family Services (ODJFS), the ODJFS led pilot in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (of which Ohio was only one of five states selected nationally to participate), the smoothing of benefits cliffs, and the redesign of the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training program. The state is aiming, in many ways, to meaningfully engage individuals in the important supports that will promote stability and growth, while the Medicaid work requirement proposal undermines these other efforts.
