US judge blocks Trump’s Medicaid rule forcing ill to prove impairment

Listen (3 mins) SaveShare US judge blocks Trump’s Medicaid rule forcing ill to prove impairment on social media Share Add Al Jazeera on Google US President Donald Trump talks with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz [File: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo]By Al Jazeera Staff and APPublished On 30 Oct 202630 Oct 2026A federal judge has ruled against enforcing a new rule by the administration of US President Donald Trump that would require chronically ill people on Medicaid, a public health insurance programme for low-income individuals, to prove themselves “medically frail” to qualify for work exemptions.US District Judge Richard Stearns blocked the rule on Thursday, siding with 25 states and the District of Columbia, which had sued the Trump administration in June over the change, arguing that it unlawfully limits exemptions for people with serious medical conditions.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US national debt passes record $40 trillionlist 2 of 3US appeals court sceptical of Trump’s lawsuit over California voter rollslist 3 of 3US court rules daughter of Trump critic James Comey was illegally firedend of listThe law says the definition of medically frail must include people who are blind or disabled, have substance use disorders or disabling mental disorders, have certain disabilities that significantly impair daily activities, or have serious or complex medical conditions.Workers at a Medicaid call centre in Jefferson City, Missouri, field questions and review information regarding eligibility determinations [File: David A Lieb/AP Photo]‘Significantly impair’ abilitiesBut the administration’s rule went further, requiring people in those categories to show that their conditions also “significantly impair” their ability to comply with the law’s work requirements.The plaintiffs argued that the stricter rule would prevent eligible Americans from accessing the care they need, and that it oversteps the law’s text.“The states have met their burden of showing irreparable harm for which monetary damages would provide inadequate compensation – they face the burden of costly and intensive alterations to their eligibility verification systems,” Stearns said in his 16-page ruling.

Advertisement The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency that adopted the rule, declined to comment.Medicaid is a public health insurance programme for low-income people, funded by state and federal governments.US President Donald Trump, left, speaks to reporters alongside Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz in West Palm Beach, Florida, on October 23, 2026 [File: Alex Wong/Getty Images via AFP]Two restrictions upheldStarting January 1, 2027, Medicaid expansion enrollees aged 19 to 64 must show that they work or do community service at least 80 hours a month, or are in school at least half the time.

There are exceptions for those considered medically frail or in addiction treatment programmes, among others.Notably, while the ruling will make it easier for some Medicaid recipients with qualifying medical conditions to obtain an exemption from the new work requirements, Stearns’s decision does not strike down the work requirements as unlawful.Stearns serves in the District of Massachusetts and was appointed by President Bill Clinton.His ruling upheld two other federal restrictions on how states can verify medical frailty that the states and the District of Columbia had also contested.

Source: Al Jazeera English