When Republicans were looking for ways to reduce the cost of their One Big Beautiful Bill, one of the first offsets they incorporated was a federal work requirement for Medicaid.
Proponents claimed this “common-sense” policy would grow the economy by increasing employment and cut wasteful spending on “lazy,” able-bodied people who chose not to seek work.
However, in the states that have tried them, Medicaid work requirements did little to boost employment. Instead, they merely created complex layers of reporting and verification that made it difficult for people to maintain coverage, even if they were still eligible for coverage or would qualify for an exemption from work requirements.
