Sponsors (6)
This is not an official government website.
Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Creates a new monthly work requirement option for Medicaid: states may require certain adult Medicaid enrollees to perform at least 80 hours per month of paid work, community service, work program participation, or a combination; if an individual fails to meet that monthly requirement for three or more months in the same calendar year, federal matching funds (FFP) are unavailable for months after that and the state may disenroll the individual. The bill defines who is an "applicable individual," lists exemptions (including age under 19 or over 60, pregnancy, serious medical inability, caring for a child under 6 or an incapacitated person, half-time students, and certain treatment participation), and sets out related definitions. Also makes targeted changes to the SNAP work-requirement statutory text (adjusts an age threshold to “over 60 years of age,” deletes two subparagraphs, and tweaks punctuation/wording) and removes a specified subsection of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. No new spending amounts, appropriations, agencies, or implementation deadlines are specified; the mechanism relies on withholding federal matching funds and allowing state-level disenrollment decisions.
The bill clarifies some eligibility rules and aims to incentivize work while giving states tools to enforce participation, but it raises substantial risks of benefit loss, increased food insecurity, greater administrative burden, and shifted costs onto states and vulnerable households.
Low-income SNAP applicants — including seniors over 60 — get clearer, more explicit work-exemption rules (including an explicit senior age threshold), which should reduce administrative denials and confusion when applying for exemptions.
State and local governments face reduced statutory ambiguity from reorganized language, which can lower appeals and administrative burden for agencies managing benefits.
Low-income Medicaid beneficiaries who can increase monthly work hours or participation may be encouraged to do so (80+ hours monthly), potentially increasing earnings and employment stability for some households.
Low-income Medicaid beneficiaries who miss three or more months of the participation requirement risk losing coverage for subsequent months, putting them at significant risk of losing access to medical care.
Some SNAP recipients may lose work-exempt status if certain subparagraphs are struck or tightened, increasing food insecurity and short-term meal costs for affected households.
People with unstable or seasonal work schedules and caregivers (parents, family caregivers) are disproportionately likely to miss participation requirements and be disenrolled, increasing financial and health vulnerability for those groups.
Introduced February 21, 2025 by Eric Burlison · Last progress February 21, 2025