Under legislation passed by House Republicans last week, able-bodied adults ages 19 to 55 who don’t have children or other dependents would be required to work in exchange for enrollment in Medicaid. The provision would require Medicaid participants to work a minimum of 80 hours a month to stay enrolled in the program. This provision is one of many included in the Republican-backed legislation that would allow for an increase in the debt limit, but also aims to limit overall government spending over the next ten years. According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, an estimated 15 million out of the 84 million people currently enrolled in Medicaid would be subject to these work requirements. While Republicans in Congress believe this requirement would revitalize the workforce and put an end to reliance on government aid, Democrats warn that work requirements could unfairly push enrollees out of Medicaid. Though the bill passed the Republican-controlled House, it is unlikely to pass a Democratic-controlled Senate or be signed into law by President Joe Biden. However, with the Medicaid program continuing to grow to record enrollment rates, Republicans are likely to take further steps to scale back the safety net program to pre-pandemic levels. This week also marked the formal end to the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), which was first declared in January 2020. The formal end of the PHE marks the end of a number of public health provisions and benefits, including Medicaid eligibility reviews and subsidized COVID-19 testing.
