Fallin seeks work requirement for Medicaid in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Gov. Mary Fallin is ordering the state’s Medicaid agency to develop a requirement that certain able-bodied participants work in order to keep receiving benefits.

Fallin issued an executive order on Tuesday directing the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to submit recommendations to the governor and Legislature within the next six months.

Fallin suggested exemptions for children, pregnant women, the disabled, caretakers of young children and those participating in substance abuse programs, among others.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved work requirements in Arkansas, Indiana and Kentucky, but all three of those states expanded their Medicaid eligibility. Oklahoma did not.

Oklahoma currently has about 798,000 Medicaid recipients, about 66 percent of whom are children. More than half of adult recipients are elderly, blind or disabled.