LOS ANGELES The Williams Institute estimates that 1,171,000 LGBT adults ages 18-64 years old have Medicaid as their primary source of health insurance. While the majority of LGBT adults with Medicaid are employed, an estimated 542,000 may be at risk of losing coverage due to work or community service requirements that states may impose under guidance released yesterday by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
These estimates include 194,000 LGBT adults who are unemployed and up to 348,000 who are unable to work and may not meet Medicaid disability eligibility criteria or meet other criteria for exemption from work and community service requirements. Nearly 84,500 LGBT adults who reside in 10 states ( including Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin ) that are considering adopting these requirements may be at immediate risk of loss of health insurance coverage.
The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research with real-world relevance