Proposed work requirements in the reconciliation bill would deny Medicaid expansion coverage to many people facing unstable employment, health challenges, and caregiving responsibilities.
In analysis of Medicaid-covered adults ages 19 to 64 without dependent children who are not enrolled based on disability in the Survey of Income and Program Participation, Urban researchers find that 69 percent of likely Medicaid expansion enrollees either worked or attended school while enrolled.
But 1 in 3 enrollees who worked or attended school would not have met the work requirement in one or more months because of unstable employment or school attendance. Only 2 percent of enrollees were neither working nor in school and reported a lack of interest in a job as a reason for not working, but proposed work requirements could prevent a much larger number of adults who work from enrolling.
