rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/tell-congress-protect-medicaid-exemptions-before-its-too-late?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-tell-congress-protect-medicaid-exemptions-before-its-too-late' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Housing Works Advocacy https://actionnetwork.org/groups/housing-works-advocacy https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/letters/photos/000/449/095/normal/Stop_Work_Requirements_.jpg On Monday, CMS released its long-awaited interim final rule (IFR) on Medicaid “community engagement” (work) requirements. This rule falls far short of what Medicaid recipients with HIV and other “serious or complex medical conditions” need to stay healthy. Instead of providing the exemption for people with serious or complex medical conditions set out in the law (HR1) imposing the work and reporting requirements, the rule creates a new, dangerous barrier to care that people with such conditions must repeatedly demonstrate that their health status “seriously impairs” their ability to work. This requirement is unlawful, invasive, subjective, and unworkable—and threatens to disrupt consistent access to lifesaving HIV treatment. For people living with HIV uninterrupted care is essential. Any policy that risks coverage loss risks the health of people with HIV, prevention efforts, and progress in ending the epidemic. This rule puts people with at risk of falling through the cracks and losing health coverage due to paperwork—not because they don’t need care. We cannot allow barriers like burdensome reporting systems to undo decades of progress in HIV treatment and prevention. Raise your voice now! Tell your Member of Congress: Take Action Email your elected officials today. Urge them to pressure CMS to delay and redraft this harmful rule before it causes real damage. Our Demands We call on Congress and CMS to: Withdraw the Rule Immediately: Halt this interim final rule before it lead states to develop systems that will lead to coverage loss and care disruptions. Redraft the Rule to Reflect Statutory Intent: Ensure any policy aligns with Medicaid’s purpose: providing health coverage—not creating bureaucratic barriers. Clarify that Medicaid Recipients with a Diagnosis of HIV Infection are Exempt From the Community Engagement (Work) Requirement: Recognize that HIV infection is a lifelong “serious or complex” medical condition that, once established, permanently exempts people living with HIV from all work reporting requirements. Protect All People Who Are Medically Frail or have a Serious and Complex Medical Condition: Guarantee broad, automatic exemptions for individuals whose health conditions make reporting burdensome or destabilizing. Simplify and Safeguard Reporting Systems: Require any state-administered processes to be accessible, non-punitive, and free from administrative traps that lead to wrongful loss of coverage. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-protect-medicaid-exemptions-before-its-too-late