Healthy Pennsylvania in Utah?

One of the big delays in the negoatiation between Pennsylvania and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Healthy PA Medicaid expansion was the initial request by Pennsylvania to tie Medicaid eligibility to work or work-search requirements. 

HHS held firm and said that Medicaid eligiblity can only be tied to income or health condition for Legacy Medicaid and can not be tied to employment or job search status.  Pennsylvania pushed back, and HHS gave a fig leaf to Pennsylvania.  Pennsylvania can use its own funds to encourage without repurcussion Healthy PA members to use a state built job search resources.  If someone participates, great, if not, great.

Utah seems to be going this route as well for Medicaid expansion as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune:

The Obama administration has agreed in concept to Utah’s novel alternative to expanding Medicaid, including the notion that able-bodied people who get insurance subsidies should accept the state’s help with finding work, Gov. Gary Herbert said late Tuesday….

HHS did not agree that insurance subsidies would be contingent on recipients holding a job or looking for work, but the agency did agree that employment can be a goal of Utah’s program, Healthy Utah.

I am reading these statements to mean that Utah can use its own funds to do a job search/training program for Healthy Utah members but participation or non-participation will not change eligibility determination.  It will be the same response that Pennsylvania received.  Federal money won’t pay for the job related activities nor will the federal money be contigent on job search requirements.

That is my guess.