Readers Speak Out on Work Requirements, Federal Data Grab, Opioid Payback Cash

Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Work Requirements Unfairly Burden Medicaid Applicants Great story (“A Deloitte-Run System Denied Medicaid Benefits for Michigan’s Disabled. Now Trump’s Law Piles On,” July 21). However, a key point was missed. The wrongly denied recipients have the burden of proving their entitlement. This can cost thousands. They have no money with which to finance the carrying of that burden of proof. Additionally, how does one prove that they cannot do any work? Doctors generally say: I will just provide their work restrictions (e.g., 10-pound lifting restrictions), but I’m not a vocational expert, so I’m not going to opine on “employability” or “non-employability.” Moreover, it takes many months to go through reconsiderations and appeals, so even if the worker wins, they will have lost everything by then. Finally, under the doctrine of “exhaustion of remedies,” the recipient must suffer through the administrative steps before asking a court to help. And even then, the court will defer to the administrative agencies’ findings of fact (i.e., the...