Florida Congressman Aaron Bean (FL-04) has introduced legislation to reform work requirements for able-bodied Americans. The requirements would apply to adults receiving Medicaid benefits who are not in school and have no dependents. Bean says his bill would help lift millions off government dependence, save taxpayer dollars, and put America on the path of fiscal responsibility.
“Work is an honorable enterprise, and it promotes a dignified pathway out of poverty. Yet today, there are more than 1.5 million able-bodied adults on Medicaid who are not working. We can’t keep asking hardworking Americans to pay for services for their neighbors who refuse to work,” said Congressman Bean. “Imposing work requirements on able-bodied adults without a dependent is not only common sense, but it would allow working Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money.”
For years, republicans have been strong proponents of work requirements for those receiving Medicaid benefits.
Past administrations have taken different positions on work requirements.
During the Obama years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rejected the idea of Medicaid work requirements. Much of this was done through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The Obama administration expanded Medicaid coverage beyond its original scope and allowed waivers for states not to apply work requirements from individuals seeking to get on the government program.
That changed when Donald Trump became President in 2016.
Under the Trump administration, Medicaid work requirements expanded in many states. In 2018, the program was to create work requirements, reporting requirements, and community engagement conditions for non-elderly, non-pregnant, adult Medicaid beneficiaries without disabilities.
The Trump White House said work requirement provisions would promote the objectives of Medicaid by assisting states “in their efforts to improve Medicaid enrollee health and well-being through incentivizing work and community engagement.”
But that came to an end when President Biden was sworn into office in 2021. The Biden administration directed the agency to withdraw all approved waivers.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated similar able-bodied work requirements for Medicaid benefits would save taxpayers $109 billion over the next decade.
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