Medicaid Work Requirements

 

Congressional Republican leaders are considering policies that would cut funding for Medicaid as part of the debt ceiling negotiation. Speaker McCarthy's budget plan, unveiled last week, includes a provision to impose Medicaid work requirements, in addition to cuts to other safety-net programs. NHeLP’s team of legal and policy experts will continue to analyze debt ceiling proposals as they emerge and provide information and resources to help advocates push back against these harmful policy proposals. If you would like to speak with the NHeLP team, please contact Andy DiAntonio | Director of Communications at diantonio@healthlaw.org Managing Attorney Mara Youdelman responds to McCarthy's budget: "Speaker McCarthy's proposals to slash Medicaid by imposing work requirements or other cuts would have disastrous effects on low-income and already underserved individuals and communities. Any cuts would risk health care coverage for millions of older adults, children, people with disabilities, and low-income adults across the country. The threat of these policies is not hypothetical. By design, work requirements push people out of health care due to burdensome reporting requirements, as most are already working. They work in jobs that either do not offer health insurance or offer unaffordable insurance. The Trump-era work requirement policy imposed by Arkansas in 2018 on Medicaid participants negatively impacted health care coverage and access, causing 18,000 people to lose Medicaid in a few short months." Read Full Statement "What Makes Medicaid, Medicaid?" Series: This updated series explores the unique ways that the Medicaid program meets the health care needs of low-income individuals and communities. The series also examines how cuts to the program would impact the services and access to care that millions of people need. The first paper in the series provides an overview of Medicaid, while subsequent papers cover affordability, services, access, and due process protections. What Makes Medicaid, Medicaid?   Medicaid Work Requirements are Another Dangerous Attack on Reproductive Health Staff Attorney Madeline Morcelle discusses the interplay between Medicaid work requirements and ongoing efforts to undermine access to reproductive and sexual health care and services.  Read Blog

About NHeLP Founded in 1969, the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) protects and advances the health rights of low-income and underserved individuals and families. NHeLP advocates, educates and litigates at the federal and state levels. Our lawyers and policy analysts stand up for the rights of the millions of people who struggle to access affordable, quality health care. We are guided by the belief—a challenge—that each generation should live better than the last.