Work Requirements Would Improve Medicaid — and the Lives of Those on the Program: Adding a work requirement to Medicaid would make the United States a stronger, healthier country and remind the world that America respects the dignity of hard work; Map Shows States With Medicaid Work Requirements

Work Requirements Would Improve Medicaid — and the Lives of Those on the Program:

Adding a work requirement to Medicaid would make the United States a stronger, healthier country and remind the world that America respects the dignity of hard work.

Medicaid is supposed to be an investment in our country’s health and well-being. So why doesn’t the program encourage more Americans to enter the workforce and improve their physical, mental, and financial health?

Numerous studies have shown that human beings are happier and healthier when they are employed. Long-term joblessness is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease, depression, and anxiety. One study even recommended employment as a “critical mental health intervention.”

Still, taxpayers today are footing the bill for an estimated 15 million able-bodied adults without children or other dependents to receive health care coverage under Medicaid without any obligation to get a job. Many of them are simply choosing not to work. Both the taxpayer and the Medicaid recipients themselves would be better off if the program had a work requirement.

Since the early 2000s, the percentage of employed Americans has steadily declined. The labor force participation rate — a figure that shows the percentage of Americans who are currently working or actively looking for work — has shrunk by 3.5 percent over the past two decades. That’s nearly 12 million Americans who have given up on working entirely.

Meanwhile, the United States had more than 8.1 million job openings as of November. If we adopt the right socio-economic policies, the number of new jobs American businesses will need to fill will skyrocket. The United States needs all Americans who can work to join our labor force.

Not only would work requirements for Medicaid encourage Americans to enter our job market, it would also help fulfill the mission of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency by regaining control of Congress’s Medicaid spending spree.

Nearly one in four Americans is on Medicaid today. Federal and state spending on the program has nearly doubled since 2020. Covid-19 was responsible for some of the spending surge, but there has been no effort to return Medicaid spending back to pre-pandemic levels. —>READ MORE HERE (or HERE)

Map Shows States With Medicaid Work Requirements:

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Tuesday that Arkansas will bring in requirements for those using Medicaid to be in work or school, making the state the second to have such rules in place for 2025.

Georgia is the other state that has implemented work-based requirements for those seeking to gain Medicaid support, which were first established in 2023.

When Newsweek contacted Sanders for comment, the governor’s communications office pointed Newsweek towards the letter Sanders sent to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary-Designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Why It Matters

As Medicaid’s main aim is to provide health coverage for those with limited incomes and resources, some have raised concerns that introducing work requirements would lead to many losing access to critical health services, according to the Foundation Commonwealth research firm.

What To Know

On Tuesday in a news conference, Sanders reportedly said the existing Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me (ARHOME) Medicaid program will be updated to establish work and community engagement requirements, according to local news outlet K8 News.

Meanwhile, Michigan is set to eradicate such requirements, as of April this year, after a bill removing it was signed on January 21 by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, according to local news outlet mlive.com.

According to mlive, the work requirements in Michigan stipulated that those receiving Medicaid under the Healthy Michigan Plan had to complete 20 hours per week, or 80 hours per month, of working or going to school.

However, the requirements have not been active since they were ruled illegal in 2020 by a federal judge a few months after the legislation was passed by Republican lawmakers, mlive.com reported.

Before Arkansas announced it would be implementing work requirements, Georgia was the only state to have had such legislation in place, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

There are a number of other states that are considering, or are in the process of implementing, work requirements for Medicaid enrollees, as the map above shows.

According to health insurance website healthinsurance.org, Ohio reportedly plans to bring in work requirements for Medicaid this year, which will need federal approval. Per the outlet, the state has previously received approval for such legislation, but it was never brought into action. —>READ MORE HERE

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