LEXINGTON, Ky. — Every day that Steve Olshewsky
can convince himself to get out of bed and face the world is a small
victory in his eyes.
After a series of panic attacks forced him out
of work in 2009, Olshewsky returned to his hometown to recover with
family. He's made great strides since then, thanks to medication and his
work at Participation Station, a peer-run outpatient clinic for serious
mental illness. There, he sits in on group sessions, teaches tai chi to
members, and talks clients through rough days on the clinic phone line.
But Olshewsky, who pays for his prescriptions
through Medicaid, could soon have to prove he deserves to keep his
coverage under a new set of restrictions on able-bodied Medicaid
recipients. The Trump administration approved the rules in January through a waiver program that allows states to experiment with changes to Medicaid.
"I feel threatened," the 59-year-old Olshewsky said at a meeting
with Participation Station members and staff to discuss the changes with
NBC News last week. "If I wasn't on Medicaid, I wouldn't be sitting
here."
Under the new system, called Kentucky HEALTH,
non-elderly adult Medicaid recipients will have to hold a job or perform
80 hours a month of "community engagement" activity like classes and
volunteering, pay a monthly premium of $1 to $15, earn their vision and
dental treatment through a rewards program, and go through the
enrollment process again every year. Those who fail to meet the
requirements could lose their coverage or face additional co-pays.
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