Legal Council for Health Justice, a Protect Our Care Illinois coalition partner, is co-counseling a national lawsuit challenging the Medicaid work requirements federal rule that unlawfully narrows protections for people who are medically frail or have special medical needs. 

The complaint was filed on Friday, September 18, in Maryland against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The National Health Law Program (NHeLP) and Democracy Forward are leading the case. Legal Council for Health Justice is co-counsel along with Legal Aid of Western Missouri and Indiana Justice Project.

The lawsuit challenges key provisions of an interim final rule implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s new Medicaid work requirements. The rule narrowly defines who qualifies for the law’s medical frailty exclusion, putting people with serious physical and mental health conditions at risk of losing Medicaid because of new reporting and verification requirements, even though Congress categorically excluded medically frail people from the requirements. This case shows what is at stake for Illinoisans, and Protect Our Care Illinois will keep standing with patients and partners to protect Medicaid and the healthcare Illinoisans rely on.

“Medicaid is a lifeline, and we will continue to fight policies that put paperwork and bureaucracy between people and the care they need,” said Julie Justicz, Executive Director, Legal Council for Health Justice.