Thousands of poor adults in Kentucky will have to find jobs and pay monthly premiums to retain their Medicaid coverage as a result of drastic changes to the state's health insurance program approved Friday by the Trump administration.

With the long-expected decision, Kentucky becomes the first state to win federal approval to test a new work requirement in Medicaid, a controversial policy shift likely to result in a court battle over whether the administration overstepped its legal authority.

"I was raised by a father who said, 'Don't take something that is not earned,'" said Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in announcing the approval of Kentucky's Medicaid waiver. "The vast majority of able-bodied men and women, able-bodied Kentuckians, they want the dignity associated with being able to earn and have engagement in the very things they are receiving, and an opportunity not to be put in a dead-end entitlement trap but given a path forward and upward."