--- title: Kentucky Is First State to Adopt Medicaid Work Requirement description: Kentucky is the first state to adopt the Trump administration's new policy of imposing work requirements as a precondition for Medicaid canonical: https://time.com/5102167/kentucky-medicaid-work-requirement/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-13T15:50:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:06.423Z article:section: Politics og:title: Kentucky Adapts New Medicaid Work Requirement og:description: The first state to do so og:url: https://time.com/5102167/kentucky-medicaid-work-requirement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee662c8fc0502997/6988f833929fadcc86bef390/matt-bevin-medicaid-kentucky.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Medicaid Work Requirement-Kentucky og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kentucky Adapts New Medicaid Work Requirement twitter:description: The first state to do so twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee662c8fc0502997/6988f833929fadcc86bef390/matt-bevin-medicaid-kentucky.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'It Will Be Transformational.' Kentucky Becomes First State to Adopt New Medicaid Work Requirement > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Year in Review: 5 Top Public Policy Changes [Watch (HLS stream): Year in Review: 5 Top Public Policy Changes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Xl6r1BVO.m3u8) (4:27)  _Published 2017-12-21. A look at the year's policy changes with the largest impact on the American people._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jan 13, 2018 3:50 PM UTC  Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin announces federal approval of Kentucky's Medicaid waiver in Frankfort, Ky on Jan. 12, 2018 Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin announces federal approval of Kentucky's Medicaid waiver in Frankfort, Ky on Jan. 12, 2018Alex Slitz—Lexington Herald-Leader/AP  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jan 13, 2018 3:50 PM UTC The state of Kentucky has become the first to adopt the Trump administration’s new policy of imposing work requirements as a precondition of receiving Medicaid benefits. Consequently, residents of Kentucky who are on Medicaid and considered healthy enough to work, must now comply with certain requirements to receive the health care provided by the government program. The Trump administration announced on January 11 that states could impose [work requirements on Medicaid recipients](https://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Waivers/1115/downloads/ky/ky-health-ca.pdf). One day later, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved a waiver for Kentucky adopting that new policy for the next five years. Under the program, which officially starts in July, Medicaid beneficiaries between the ages of 19 and 64 who do not meet exemption requirements must complete at least 80 hours per month of “community engagement,” which includes work, school, job skills training, or community service. If they do not complete the requirements, Medicaid eligibility will be suspended. The program exempts several categories of recipients, including pregnant women, those diagnosed as “medically frail,” primary caregivers, and former foster care youth. “It will be transformational,” Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin said in an announcement Friday. “Transformational in all the right ways, in good ways, in powerful ways.” More than 2 million people are on Medicaid in Kentucky, [according to the Kaiser Family Foundation](https://www.kff.org/medicaid/fact-sheet/medicaids-role-in-kentucky/), which is nearly one quarter of the state’s population. Kentucky was among the [33 states](https://www.kff.org/health-reform/slide/current-status-of-the-medicaid-expansion-decision/) to adopt the Medicaid expansion program that is a cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act enacted under the Obama administration, but Bevin has been [seeking to implement](https://www.kff.org/medicaid/fact-sheet/proposed-changes-to-medicaid-expansion-in-kentucky/) these changes since he was elected in 2015. Bevin also defended the program from criticism that it was essentially punishing lower income people, and insisted that the program will only impact those who are physically able to work. The recipients of the program who are unable to comply with the new regulations, he said, will remain unaffected. “This idea that somehow we are punishing people, that this will be a detriment to people I think is a huge huge misunderstanding of what people need,” he said, noting that he himself came from a low-income family. “There is dignity associated with owning the value of something you receive.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5102167/kentucky-medicaid-work-requirement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5102167/kentucky-medicaid-work-requirement/"},"headline":"'It Will Be Transformational.' 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