Re: “Work requirements threaten a critical health care system” (May 28, Opinion):
The results of Medicaid work requirements are clear — more people will lose their health insurance. My team, which helps patients find and enroll in insurance, has found that having health insurance enables our patients to secure and maintain employment. Jeopardizing their health insurance also jeopardizes their employment.
In Washington state roughly 95% of Medicaid adult enrollees are either working, ill/disabled, a caretaker or in school. Adding red tape and administrative hurdles is not going to improve that percentage. Imagine if you had to renew your driver’s license multiple times a year. Now imagine you’re a parent working two jobs to support your children with no spare time to fill out burdensome paperwork on a regular basis. Parents would be punished not for failing to work, but for not being able to navigate the monthly reporting rules.
Medicaid works for our patients, our health care system and our communities. Work reporting requirements undercut access to care, which threatens families’ health and the health of our economy.
Jesús Bervis, eligibility manager, Neighborcare Health, Seattle
