States Rush To Figure Out How To Enforce Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements
A KFF survey of state Medicaid officials offers insight into lingering uncertainty and differing plans for work requirement implementation as the Jan. 1 deadline approaches.
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
1 - 20 of 113 Results
A KFF survey of state Medicaid officials offers insight into lingering uncertainty and differing plans for work requirement implementation as the Jan. 1 deadline approaches.
Florida is not mandated to add work requirements for Medicaid, because the state has not expanded eligibility to more low-income adults. But lawmakers have proposed requiring some adults in the state’s program to work anyway, a policy that could leave many uninsured.
Republicans have said new rules requiring many Medicaid participants to work 80 hours a month will pinpoint unemployed young people who should have jobs. Policy researchers say the rules are more likely to disrupt coverage for middle-aged adults, harming their physical and financial health.
Programs like Jamboree Housing Corp. have leveraged Medi-Cal funding to offer residents access to social services that experts say are key to keeping them off the streets. California intends to keep it that way, despite federal cuts.
Some patients who had liposuction or other surgeries later required emergency hospital care — and some died, court records show.
The Trump administration wants deep funding cuts for state-based legal services for disabled people, as rights advocates say the Justice Department pushed out many of its lawyers who worked on such issues.
Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
People on Medicaid deemed “medically frail” won’t need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.
Amid public forums and local cries for help, states are also talking with large health systems, technology companies, and others amid intensifying competition for shares of a $50 billion fund to improve rural health.
States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but it’s not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid cuts loom.
Under a new law, many Americans will have to meet a work requirement to obtain and keep their Medicaid coverage. But due to an exemption, millions living in areas of high unemployment could be spared.
Tens of millions of people face sticker shock enrolling in Affordable Care Act insurance for 2026. To save money, the Trump administration wants them to consider less generous coverage.
Michigan’s former top health official spent a year and $30 million building a system to implement work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The difficulties he encountered have him worried about 40 states and Washington, D.C., having to launch such systems by 2027.
More than a dozen states are seeking their own versions of Medicaid work requirements. But the incoming federal standards pose questions around how much leeway states have to design their rules.
Work requirements are coming for the millions of Americans on Medicaid, due to the Republican tax and spend bill that President Donald Trump signed into law July 4. Currently, Georgia is the only state with a work requirement. Eligible Georgians say it’s very hard to get the system to confirm they qualify, putting their benefits at risk.
KFF Health News' Renuka Rayasam breaks down what you need to know about Medicaid work requirements.
The Trump administration has said improving American nutrition is a priority, but deep cuts to federal food assistance could lead people to forgo healthy food in favor of cheaper alternatives.
Even as states brace for significant reductions in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, conservative legislatures across the country are passing laws that grant doula access to Medicaid beneficiaries.
A proposed work requirement would make Medicaid expansion enrollees prove they’re working or meet other criteria. Most already work, but millions are expected to lose coverage if the provision passes, many from red tape. A Missouri mother who cares for her disabled son would probably be subject to the rule.
In 2017, when President Donald Trump tried to repeal Obamacare and roll back Medicaid coverage, Republican governors helped turn Congress against it. Now, as Trump tries again to scale back Medicaid, Republican governors — whose constituents stand to lose federal funding and health coverage — have gone quiet on the health consequences.
© 2026 KFF