State officials in Kentucky have delayed the start of some new eligibility rules for a portion of its Medicaid population.
Kentucky is one of 36 states to expand its Medicaid program under former President Barack Obama's health care law to cover more people. President Donald Trump's administration gave Kentucky permission to require those people to do things like get a job, go to school or do community service work to maintain their coverage. The Bevin administration calls these rules the "community engagement" requirements.
A federal judge blocked the rules last year, but the Trump administration approved them a second time in November. Kentucky had prepared to begin implementing some of the rules April 1. On Thursday, state health officials said the community engagement requirement would begin no sooner than July 1.
A spokesman said a pending legal challenge and the federal government shutdown contributed to the delay.
