MHE Question of the Week: Do You Favor Medicaid Work Requirements?

Some background

Medicaid work requirements would compel adults to work as a condition for coverage from a state’s Medicaid program. Usually, some provisions allow people to go to school, get job training, or volunteer as alternatives to holding a job. Republicans generally support Medicaid work requirements, and Trump granted waivers to 13 states to implement them. Democrats generally oppose them, and the Biden administration moved to reverse those waivers. Proponents of work requirements say work or going to school is associated with better health, that able-bodied adults should participate in the economy and that requirements help states hold the line on Medicaid spending. Critics say that many people covered by Medicaid work already and that the requirements will add needless red tape, creating another barrier to accessing healthcare that can help people stay healthy, which enables them to work or go to school.

We want to know what you’re thinking! Every Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. E.T. the editors of Managed Healthcare Executive are posing a question to our readers about a timely issue in U.S. healthcare. We collect your answers until 11 a.m. E.T. on Friday.