Government By Judiciary: Federal judge blocks Kentucky’s Medicaid work requirements

Vox reports:

A federal judge blocked Kentucky’s Medicaid work requirements on Friday, ruling that the Trump administration did not adequately consider before approving the state’s proposal whether work requirements would violate the program’s purpose of providing health care to the most vulnerable Americans.

The court decision is at least a temporary blow to the ambitious plans of Republican-led states and the Trump administration to remake the program.

The ruling came in a lawsuit against Kentucky, one of the first states to have its proposal requiring certain Medicaid recipients to work (or else lose their benefits) approved by the Trump administration. District court Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, came down in favor of the plaintiffs who sought to block the work requirements from taking effect on July 1 as planned.

The federal government is obligated under federal law to consider whether a Medicaid proposal advances the program’s objectives, the judge wrote, and the Trump administration failed to meet that standard before approving Kentucky’s plan.

The federal judge will decide............