Medicaid work requirements — provisions that would require Medicaid enrollees to work or volunteer in order to maintain coverage — have reemerged in health policy conversations in an effort to reduce federal Medicaid spending.
Just last week, Senators John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) and Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) introduced a bill that would require “able-bodied adults” without dependents to work or volunteer for at least 20 hours per week to receive Medicaid benefits, according to the announcement. The bill, called the Jobs and Opportunities for Medicaid Act, could save taxpayers more than $100 billion over 10 years, the senators claimed.
“Medicaid doesn’t work the way it should,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Able-bodied adults without dependents are better off with jobs than with hand-outs, and so are their communities and American taxpayers. My Jobs and Opportunities for Medicaid Act would help pave a path out of poverty for millions of Americans.”
The Funding Model for Cancer Innovation is Broken — We Can Fix It
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
Schmitt argued that work requirements would allow Medicaid to “serve as a bridge to self-sufficiency, fostering pathways to employment, job training, and community engagement.” He added that the bill would help Medicaid beneficiaries gain “financial independence” and would save resources for the most vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
The announcement also stated that there has been a decrease in the labor force participation rate since 2000, but the number of able-bodied adults enrolled in Medicaid has risen.
However, if Medicaid work requirements were in place, an estimated 36 million Medicaid enrollees could be at risk of losing coverage, according to an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). The organization argued that work requirements don’t increase employment and would just add administrative barriers for Medicaid beneficiaries and lead to coverage losses for those between jobs.
“Policymakers should reject work requirements,” CBPP said. “Instead of needlessly putting tens of millions of people at risk of losing health coverage by saddling them with red tape and one-size-fits-all requirements that can make it harder for people to work, lawmakers should make it easier and less costly for people to access health coverage.”
Using Data to Help Healthcare Practices Succeed
A new report from Relatient, A Data-Driven Guide to Patient Access Succes, highlights how focusing on data accuracy and relevance can enhance the performance of healthcare practices.
A recent report by KFF shows that the majority of Medicaid adults under the age of 65 were working in 2023. About 44% were working full-time and 20% were working part-time. The remainder were not working due to caregiving, attending school, a disability, retirement or inability to find work.
KFF also found that those in better health and with more education were more likely to be working.
Several states have tried to implement Medicaid work requirements through Section 1115 waivers, according to KFF. The first Trump administration approved waivers in 13 states, but many of these were struck down in courts. Georgia is currently the only state with a work requirement waiver in place.
Photo: designer491, Getty Images