Medicaid is an important health care program for low-income individuals and families, but access to the program has been jeopardized in some states. So far, 23 states have taken steps to require Medicaid program enrollees to provide proof of the number of hours they work or volunteer in order to stay in the program. If an enrollee doesn’t meet the minimum number of hours or if they don’t have documents proving how much they worked, their health care coverage will be stopped.

Last spring, a federal judge rejected Kentucky’s and Arkansas’ work documentation requirements. The ADA has been a vocal opponent of these requirements because they create barriers that keep people from obtaining the care they need to manage their diabetes. We were pleased when the federal judge cited ADA’s formal comments as evidence the federal government did not consider how these requirements will impact Medicaid program enrollees. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop other states from trying to implement similar requirements—Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin have received approval from the federal government to implement similar requirements.

This week, we had another victory in this ongoing battle: a federal appeals court upheld last year’s decision to reject Arkansas’ work documentation requirements. We’re hopeful this appeals court decision will ensure similar requirements are not implemented in any other states—and are stopped in states that are using them.