Particle.news
Download on the App Store
7 ARTICLES
·
yesterday

House Republicans Approve Nationwide Medicaid Work Requirements and Major Funding Cuts

The legislation now moves to the Senate with CBO projections that it could strip millions of low-income Americans of Medicaid by 2034

Great Society, Meet Cruelty: President Lyndon Johnson signs the Medicare Bill into law while former President Harry S. Truman, whom Johnson praised as "the real daddy of Medicare," observes during a ceremony at the Truman Library in Independence, Mo. On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Medicaid work requirements have a "moral component" to them because people on Medicaid who "refuse" to work are "defrauding the system." (AP Photo)
Working It: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, shown here at a news conference on May 20. On Sunday, he said on CBS's "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that Medicaid work requirements have a "moral component" to them because people on Medicaid who "refuse" to work are "defrauding the system."
Image
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson after the House narrowly passed a bill forwarding President Donald Trump's agenda at the U.S. Capitol on May 22, 2025.

Overview

  • The House bill would mandate adults without dependents to work, train or volunteer 80 hours per month and require states to verify eligibility twice a year as part of an $880 billion budget reconciliation package.
  • Speaker Mike Johnson defended the measures as a ‘‘moral component’’ to curb fraud and promote self-sufficiency, arguing that work mandates strengthen personal responsibility.
  • The nonpartisan CBO estimates the work requirements alone could end coverage for about 1.5 million people, while advocacy groups warn the full reconciliation plan might leave up to 8.6 million uninsured by 2034.
  • Analyses of past state programs show that bureaucratic red tape, not lack of employment, drove coverage losses—Arkansas lost over 18,000 enrollees in four months despite 97% compliance, with no boost in job growth.
  • Health experts warn cuts could raise uncompensated care, strain rural hospitals on the brink of closure, increase private insurance premiums and exacerbate financial pressures on state budgets.