Medicaid work rule · Kentucky · checked 2026-10-20
Medicaid work requirement in Kentucky: what applies to you in 2027
Starting no later than January 2027, most adults 19 to 64 on Medicaid expansion must show 80 hours a month of work, school, volunteering or a work program, or $580 of income, unless the rule does not apply to them. Below is what Kentucky has published about how it will check, with a link to each source. Kentucky decides; this page only explains.
What Kentucky has published
- When it starts
- 2027-01-01 (Medicaid Work or Community Engagement, 'MACE'). No soft launch is published. Enrollees get a 30-day noncompliance window with coverage continued.Source: 1 (Kentucky's own pages, listed below) · checked 2026-10-20
- Whether your own word counts in 2027
- Yes, broadly, for 2027 only, when Medicaid cannot confirm from available data. It covers work and community-engagement activities and all exemptions, including medical frailty. Forms MACE-100 (activities), MACE-200 (medical condition) and MACE-300 (hardship) can be self-signed in 2027. From 2028, frailty self-attestation is allowed one time.Source: 1 (Kentucky's own pages, listed below) · checked 2026-10-20
- How many months it looks back
- Application: 1 month, the month before applying. Renewal: 3 of the 6 months before renewal.Source: 1 (Kentucky's own pages, listed below) · checked 2026-10-20
- How often you renew
- 6 months. The FAQ refers to 'the six-month period between renewals'. Medically frail status must be reverified every 12 months.Source: 1 (Kentucky's own pages, listed below) · checked 2026-10-20
- How it checks medical frailty
- 12 months of claims reviewed 'when available'. A list of conditions by diagnosis code is promised on the MACE webpage (not yet seen). Fallback is MACE-200, or a signed letter from a licensed provider on letterhead.Source: 1 (Kentucky's own pages, listed below) · checked 2026-10-20
In Kentucky's own words
“For 2027 only, you may fill out this form entirely yourself. You may sign the form yourself as self-attestation.”khbe.ky.gov
“If you are a current Medicaid member, you must show you met the work or community engagement requirement for at least three of the six months before you renew your coverage.”khbe.ky.gov
“When available, health care claims for the past 12 months will be reviewed to see if an enrolled member has a condition that may make them medically frail.”khbe.ky.gov
Not published yet
Kentucky has not said this yet on the pages checked. Ask your Medicaid office, and keep copies of what you send.
- the diagnosis-code list itself (promised, not yet seen)
- use of the CMS 3-tier frailty model
Sources
Kentucky's own Medicaid pages, read on 2026-10-20. The federal rule behind every state is in rules.json, with its own sources.