Are you exempt from the work rule?

A lot of adults on expansion Medicaid won't have to show any hours at all. CMS lists these groups as excluded from the rule:

• Pregnant women and women in the postpartum period
• Parents, guardians and caretaker relatives of a child 13 or under, or of a person with a disability
• People who are medically frail. This includes people who are blind or disabled, people with a substance use disorder, people with a serious mental illness, and people with serious or complex medical conditions.
• Former foster youth under 26
• American Indians and Alaska Natives who are eligible for Indian Health Service care
• Veterans with a total disability rating
• People who already meet TANF work requirements, and members of SNAP households who meet SNAP work rules

People under 19 and people on Medicare aren't covered by the rule in the first place.

Short-term hardships

States can also excuse people for short periods, for example during a hospital stay, or when they live in a county with a declared disaster or very high unemployment. Each state decides how this works, so ask your agency if something like this happens to you.

How exemptions get checked

Your state should use information it already has to see that you're exempt. If it can't tell, you'll get a letter asking you to show it, with at least 30 days to answer. A letter from your doctor, your child's birth certificate, or proof of your SNAP or TANF case usually does it.

Use the checker below to see where you probably stand.

Sources: Community engagement, Medicaid.gov; Community engagement interim final rule, Federal Register.