Washington, DC — Yesterday, the White House released a new analysis showing that 21 million Americans are at risk of losing their health care under the latest Republican plan to impose so-called work requirements for millions of people on Medicaid. Research shows the vast majority of people with Medicaid coverage who can work are already working and that applying this type of restriction only serves to throw people off the rolls due to bureaucratic hurdles and paperwork requirements. Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:
“The GOP debt default proposal is nothing more than a ploy to cut vital programs like Medicaid. Kevin McCarthy and Republicans in Congress have eyed cuts to Medicaid for decades, and so-called work requirements are just their latest method for kicking people off the rolls. If this draconian proposal passes, as many as 21 million people will lose their Medicaid coverage, creating chaos for families and for hospitals and states who have to pick up the tab. This plan will impose severe harm on people with disabilities, parents, rural Americans, and others who fall victim to MAGA Republicans’ ongoing war on American health care. This is an absolute non-starter.”
- The GOP Plan Could Make It Harder For People To Meet Basic Needs. Work reporting requirements could put over 21 million Medicaid beneficiaries—nearly 1 in 3 Medicaid enrollees in expansion states—at risk of losing coverage. Millions of people in America would lose coverage if all states were required to implement Medicaid work requirements, and research suggests that work requirements could have “particular adverse effects on certain Medicaid populations, such as women, people with HIV, and adults with disabilities including those age 50 to 64.”
- Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements Have A History Of Significantly Reducing Enrollment. Restricting access to Medicaid for adults reduces coverage for children who are still eligible, and requiring people on Medicaid to prove they are working adds an administrative burden that is hardest on low-income enrollees. The industries that employ the most Medicaid enrollees tend to have extremely volatile hours, threatening loss of coverage under expanded work requirements: “The two industries that employ the most Medicaid enrollees potentially subject to work requirements are restaurants/food services and construction; many enrollees also work at grocery stores, department stores, and discount stores or provide home health or child care services. These industries generally have above-average rates of involuntary part-time work, where employees want full-time work but can’t get it.”