The bill expands work-linked rules and state flexibility that can preserve benefits for those who meet work thresholds and explicitly protect seniors, but it raises administrative burdens, narrows some exemptions, and risks considerable coverage loss for people with unstable work, caregiving duties, or disabilities.
Low-income seniors (people over 60) would be explicitly exempted from certain SNAP work or eligibility requirements, preserving or improving their access to benefits.
Low-income Medicaid beneficiaries who meet the 80-hour-per-month work or community-service threshold can retain benefits, supporting continued coverage for working enrollees.
States get clearer authority and flexibility to design and target work requirements, exemptions, and supportive programs, enabling tailored approaches to local labor markets and populations.
Medicaid beneficiaries who fail to meet the monthly work requirement for three or more months can be disenrolled and lose federally funded coverage for months, reducing access to health care.
People with intermittent work schedules, caregiving responsibilities, or unstable hours risk losing Medicaid coverage despite partial employment, increasing health and financial insecurity.
People with disabilities may face barriers proving incapacity or securing exemptions and therefore risk inappropriate loss of coverage under new work-linked rules.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Allows states to impose Medicaid work requirements (80 hrs/month), permits disenrollment for noncompliance, denies federal matching for months after 3+ failures, and revises certain SNAP exemption text.
Introduced February 21, 2025 by Eric Burlison · Last progress February 21, 2025
Modifies rules for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) exemptions and authorizes states to impose and enforce Medicaid work requirements that can lead to disenrollment. The bill changes specific exemption language in the Food and Nutrition Act and removes a provision of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. For Medicaid, it creates a federal rule disallowing federal matching funds for medical assistance for individuals who fail to meet a new monthly work standard in three or more months of a calendar year, defines the work requirement (80 hours/month via work, community service, education, or equivalent income), establishes exemptions and terms, and gives states the option to disenroll affected beneficiaries for months with no federal financial participation.