Medicaid Work Requirements Are Coming. Legal Aid Needs Your Input

Gary Rivers Show featured guests from Community Legal Aid Tuesday Morning

Steven McGarrity and Marie Curry ,said the organization is seeking input from residents currently enrolled in Medicaid by asking them to complete an online survey.

The move is in response to the recent federal approval of Ohio’s Medicaid Waiver, which imposes work requirements for eligible Ohioans enrolled in Medicaid.

The nonprofit law firm is trying to gain a better understanding of how the new restrictions will impact their clients, according to Executive Director Steven McGarrity.

“We need to be able to advise people about their rights,” McGarrity explained. “The first step in that is knowing who is impacted and how they’re impacted.”

Legal Aid, a 501(c)3 nonprofit law firm, provides free legal help to low-income residents in central northeast Ohio. Many of their clients use Medicaid as their primary healthcare coverage.

Marie Curry, managing attorney for Legal Aid’s health and education law programs, explained that the exemptions outlined by the Ohio Department of Medicaid would help many of their clients.

“We are interested in making sure that clients who are eligible for an exemption are able to show that,” Curry said.  “For clients who are not eligible for an exemption, we can work with them to make sure they get the support they need to keep their families healthy and stable.”

These new requirements could impact up to 315,000 Ohioans state wide, according to a statement released March 15 by the nonpartisan think tank Policy Matters Ohio.

Those interested in learning more can fill out a brief survey here at https://survey.communitylegalaid.org/aayn.