Overview
- Adults 18 to 64 without qualifying dependents must document at least 80 hours a month of work, training, or volunteering to remain eligible.
- Those who do not meet the requirement are limited to three months of benefits within a three-year period under the new time limit.
- Exemptions were narrowed, with automatic relief now limited to households with children 14 or younger and disabilities requiring medical certification, while veterans, unhoused people and some former foster youth must meet the rules.
- States report heavy outreach and filings, with Illinois saying roughly 100,000 exemptions are already on file and hundreds of thousands could be affected ahead of the May 1 cutoff risk.
- Impact and timing vary by location, as New Mexico reports nearly 20,000 lawfully present immigrants lost federal eligibility and the CBO projects long-term participation declines of about 2.4 million.