Eighteen states told the U.S. Supreme Court the state of Arkansas should be able to set work requirements for Medicaid services, including the use of Medicaid dollars to buy private insurance for low-income people.
Earlier in December, the Supreme Court announced it would hear the appeals involving the Arkansas work requirements — which had been struck down by lower courts.
According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 17 states have so far signed an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, brief arguing that the lower court’s ruling is “flatly inconsistent with historical and current practice.”
A spokeswoman for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said Wednesday that the work on the appeal continues.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed her brief in Arkansas’s U.S. Supreme Court case concerning Arkansas Works and a companion case concerning New Hampshire’s similar program.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later in 2021. In this case, Rutledge seeks to defend Arkansas Works’ community-engagement requirements.
“I look forward to the U.S. Supreme Court hearing our case on why Arkansas’s community-engagement requirements will help build a better future for Arkansans," Rutledge said. "Arkansas Works reaffirms Arkansas's commitment to improving the health of Arkansans and ensuring the Medicaid program is sustainable."