Congress Is Pushing for a Medicaid Work Requirement. Here's What Happened When Georgia Tried It.

[douglas9]

Congressional Republicans, looking for ways to offset their proposed tax cuts, are seeking to mandate that millions of Americans work in order to receive federally subsidized health insurance. The GOP tax and budget bill passed the House in May, and Senate Republicans are working feverishly to advance their draft of federal spending cuts in the coming days.

Georgia, the only state with a Medicaid work mandate, started experimenting with the requirement on July 1, 2023. As the Medicaid program’s two-year anniversary approaches, Georgia has enrolled just a fraction of those eligible, a result health policy researchers largely attribute to bureaucratic hurdles in the state’s work verification system. As of May 2025, approximately 7,500 of the nearly 250,000 eligible Georgians were enrolled, even though state statistics show 64% of that group is working.

Gov. Brian Kemp has long advocated for Medicaid reform, arguing that the country should move away from government-run health care. His spokesperson also told The Current and ProPublica that the program, known as Georgia Pathways to Coverage, was never designed to maximize enrollment.

Health care analysts and former state Medicaid officials say Georgia’s experience shows that the congressional bill, if it becomes law, would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in administrative costs as it is implemented while threatening health care for nearly 16 million people.

Here’s how proposed federal work requirements compare to Georgia’s — and how they may impact your state:

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-medicaid-work-requirement-big-beautiful-bill

[The Wizard]

1. Adding to the cheap labor workforce

would serve the bribing class as it would drive down wages while raising the corporate bottom line. More people vying for labor dollars creates downward pressure on the labor pool.

[multigraincracker]

2. Cheaper, better health care for everyone. Single Payer. Duh.

[Lonestarblue]

3. Republicans keep pushing the lie that Medicaid recipients do not work.

And the media mostly lets them get away with it. Over two-thirds of those on Medicaid have jobs. Many of the rest are caregivers to babies or elderly or disabled children or are disabled themselves. I think Walmart has changed some of its policies after a lot of negative attention, but they used to limit some employees to 30 hours a week to avoid paying benefits, including healthcare. With their low wages, such workers qualified for Medicaid in many states.

Some Medicaid recipients may be taking advantage of the program, but the overwhelming majority have a genuine need.

[erronis]

4. They (the R's) don't really want people to work for their Medicaid. They want people to die.