Lawmakers backtrack on promised Medicaid protections for cancer patients, new CMS rules impose work requirements

Gwen Nichols, a hematologist/oncologist and chief medical officer of Blood Cancer United, wrote that lawmakers who pledged to protect cancer patients from Medicaid cuts are now backing a policy that could undermine that promise.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is advancing work‑reporting requirements that would force states to verify enrollee work status every six months and demand at least 80 hours of community service, education or employment each month. For patients undergoing cancer treatment, meeting such a threshold is often impossible.

Advocates, including more than 160 blood‑cancer groups, have met with congressional staff to voice alarm. Many lawmakers were reportedly surprised by the potential impact on people with serious conditions, as the rule threatens to make essential health coverage harder to retain for low‑income patients.