New Medicaid work rules will take effect at the end of 2026. Our care and support systems have long been rigged against disabled people, and these new paperwork rules will push even more sick people off the care and support they need.
Please sign our letter to the HHS Secretary urging him to recognize people with ME/CFS and Long COVID as “medically frail” so that their access to Medicaid is protected.
This petition is the first step in #MEAction's Freakin' Frail campaign to protect our community’s access to Medicaid. We will mobilize grassroots pressure, at both federal and state levels, to mitigate the harm to our communities when Medicaid work requirements are implemented.
Join #MEAction’s Freakin’ Frail campaign and fight this rigged system to make it better for everyone!
WHY OUR COMMUNITIES ARE AT RISK OF LOSING MEDICAID
Congress has mandated that Medicaid recipients work 80 hours a month unless they can prove they are “medically frail,” or risk losing their Medicaid. Attempting to meet an 80‑hour work requirement for most people with ME/CFS and Long COVID will only worsen their illness, and may cause permanent harm.
Before states start enforcing these new work rules, the HHS Secretary must issue guidance that will shape how states decide who counts as "medically frail." Join us in demanding that people with ME/CFS and Long COVID are fully protected. Please sign the petition today!
No one should have to sacrifice their health just to keep their healthcare.
WHY "MEDICALLY FRAIL "?
“Medically Frail” was used in “The One Big Beautiful Bill” to describe people who would be exempt from work requirements for Medicaid. It’s vague – and that’s the point. We have to prove that people with ME/CFS and Long COVID are frail enough to qualify for an exemption from onerous requirements. You may not like the word—and should definitely be upset at how these new rules are being rigged to take away people’s health care—but we need to insist that our at-risk community is granted “medically frail” exemptions.
WHAT IF I HAVE A DIFFERENT CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITION?
We believe no one should have their health care taken away because they are too sick to work. Our campaign will continue to work in a large disability coalition that advocates to all decision-makers to define “medically frail” as broadly as possible to capture everyone whose health or function limits their ability to meet the new work requirement.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT PEOPLE NOT ON MEDICAID?
ME and Long COVID are still widely unrecognized as serious, disabling conditions across the whole health system, which harms all of us. Winning “medically frail” recognition in Medicaid is a key lever to pull us out of the shadows and build official recognition—strengthening the case for better diagnosis, care, support, and disability benefits for everyone.