Five Million Could Lose Medicaid Coverage Under Republican Proposals

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Apr 17, 2025 at 7:47 AM EDT


Up to 5 million Americans stand to lose their public health care coverage should federal work requirements proposed by Republicans be enacted nationwide.

A joint analysis from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute published Monday found that a federal work-requirement policy could result in between 4.6 and 5.2 million of the projected 13.3 million Medicaid expansion enrollees in 2026 losing out on coverage.

Why It Matters

Medicaid is the primary program providing health care to lower income individuals in the U.S., with over 80 million currently enrolled. In the ongoing Congressional budget negotiations, Republicans have struggled to outline a plan which allows for spending reductions and tax breaks while avoiding cuts to one of the nation's most subscribed-to and popular programs—which President Donald Trump promised "wouldn't be touched."

Federal work requirements have been proposed by Republicans at the state and federal level as a way to condition coverage rather than cut it, while reducing government spending in the process. Democrats, however, have long opposed such measures as inconsistent with the program's aims, given the potential administrative burden and the likelihood that many deserving enrollees could lose out on coverage.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/medicaid-five-million-coverage-republican-proposals-2060878

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Link to Robert Wood Johnson & Urban Institute PUBLICATION site - How Work Requirements Would Affect Medicaid Coverage in Each Expansion State

Link to publication BRIEF (PDF) - https://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/reports/2025/rwjf482143

[Bayard]

1. Cold and cruel is the name of the game

[hedda_foil]

2. Since my daughter is in the Medicaid Expansion group, I read and re-read the brief.

I learned how to read insurance policies and their exceptions many years ago, when I worked in the newspaper accident claims division of a now defunct insurance company. These were very cheap policies, that only paid for a very limited range of accidental injury, that were sold through newspapers, with weekly or monthly premiums of a couple of bucks. As a result, the exceptions were almost endless and were enforced VERY strictly. My job was to examine claims the regular claims department judged as "iffy" and to write nice letters to the people whose claims didn't fit the narrow range of approvals.

I'm telling you all that to show that I really, really, really know how to read exceptions, exemptions and disclaimers. That doesn't mean I'm always 100% right, but pretty close.

So, they're talking about imposing federal work requirements. Most states already have these for the Medicaid Expansion enrollees. (People who earn between the highest amount to qualify for regular Medicaid and the lowest income to qualify for ACA.) We are in Illinois, where the rules are strict and you have to re-qualify every six months or lose your insurance. I had to go deep into this two weeks ago, when my daughter was erroneously told (by a trainee) that being in school full time didn't qualify. She's in her last year of a 3 year Masters of Divinity program, with a lot of student loans, so she freaked.

I looked up the rules, which seem to be virtually identical to federal work requirements for aid programs. Full time school counts. So does 20 hours of work anywhere, paid or unpaid as long as it's verified by a legitimate employer. So does simply being over 55. Cronic or debilitating Illness is also accepted as a reason to qualify for Medicaid, with medical proof, without requiring you to qualify for Social Security Disability. (That last one may vary).

I hope this helps.
hedda

So if you're worrying about your insurance or a relative's,