New Jersey co-leads lawsuit challenging Trump administration Medicaid work requirement rule
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport is co-leading a coalition of 24 attorneys general and two governors in suing the Trump administration over a new Medicaid work requirement rule that the coalition says unlawfully narrows protections for medically vulnerable patients.
The lawsuit seeks to block portions of an interim final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that implements Medicaid work requirements included in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the rule narrows exemptions for “medically frail” Medicaid recipients by requiring patients with serious or complex conditions, mental disorders, substance abuse disorders and other vulnerabilities to prove their condition significantly impairs their ability to work.
“Everyone deserves affordable healthcare. The Trump Administration’s new rule kicks patients with stage 4 cancer and early onset Alzheimer’s off Medicaid, unless these patients jump through bureaucratic hoops to prove they are too sick to work,” said Attorney General Davenport. “The new Medicaid work requirements are likely to cause over 300,000 New Jerseyans to lose access to lifesaving care due to onerous bureaucratic requirements, not actual ineligibility. We are suing to stop this cruel and unlawful rule. I will continue to fight against unlawful efforts that would increase costs to people with serious illnesses and disabilities.”
The work requirement provision is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2027, but states are required to notify Medicaid recipients about the changes by Aug. 31, 2026.
The coalition argues that the interim final rule creates additional administrative burdens, increases red tape and places eligible residents at risk of losing health coverage, including people who are already working or qualify for exemptions.
The rule itself estimates that more than 3 million people nationwide will lose Medicaid coverage as a result of the new work requirements, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The lawsuit alleges the rule unlawfully narrows protections for medically frail Medicaid recipients, violates the Administrative Procedure Act, fails to adequately consider harm to states and health care systems, and imposes vague requirements on states after they had begun implementing the law based on prior federal guidance.
Medicaid is jointly funded by states and the federal government and provides health coverage for low-income Americans.
The lawsuit is co-led by Davenport, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. They are joined by attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, along with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
