Ending the Cycle of Dependency Act of 2025

This bill, called the Ending the Cycle of Dependency Act of 2025, would add work rules for many adults on Medicaid and tighten who must meet work rules to get SNAP (food assistance). For Medicaid, adults ages 19–59 would have to do at least one of these each month: work 80 hours, be in a work program 80 hours, do 80 hours of community service, or earn at least what 80 hours at the federal minimum wage would pay. States could choose to remove coverage for people who do not meet these rules. People under 19 or age 60 and over, those with disabilities or who are pregnant, caretakers of a child under 6 or an incapacitated person, people in addiction treatment, students enrolled at least half-time, and people already meeting work rules in another federal program would be exempt.

The bill would also expand who must meet SNAP work rules, including adults ages 56–60, parents of kids age 6 and older, homeless individuals, and some former foster youth. It would also stop states from asking for waivers of work rules in areas with high unemployment or too few jobs.

• Who is affected: Many adults on Medicaid ages 19–59; more SNAP recipients, including ages 56–60, parents of kids 6+, homeless individuals, and certain former foster youth .
• What changes: New 80-hour-per-month options for Medicaid to keep coverage; state option to disenroll noncompliant adults; broader SNAP work rules and no more state waivers of those rules .