LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — 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."
In 2018, the Trump administration granted a waiver allowing Arkansas to overhaul its eligibility requirements for Medicaid. Arkansas sought to add a requirement that able-bodied people without dependents had to either work or take part in educational or job-training programs for 80 hours a month to receive benefits.
The Arkansas Works model is designed to encourage able-bodied Arkansans without dependents to transition into the workforce while building a stronger and more resilient connection with their communities.
In February 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision to vacate the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ approval of work requirements in Arkansas Works.
Rutledge filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in July 2020 asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review and uphold the Arkansas Works Medicaid demonstration project. The Court granted certiorari in December 2020.
The cases are Arkansas v. Gresham, No. 20-38, and Azar v. Gresham, No. 20-37.