Medicaid Work Requirements

The requirement is modest: 80 hours per month, or about 20 hours per week. It can be fulfilled through paid work, volunteering, community service, education, or job training. Anyone who is pregnant, disabled, caring for a young child, in substance abuse treatment, or elderly is exempt.

Democrats called it "an income tax on the poor." House Minority Leader Alexis Simpson and Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka co-authored an op-ed claiming low-income Granite Staters would "pay what is essentially a Medicaid income tax to keep their health care — almost $300 a month for a family of four." They argued "far too many Granite Staters are skipping care because of the cost." But polling consistently shows 70%+ of Americans support the basic principle: if you're able-bodied and receiving government healthcare, you should contribute to society in some way. Only 9 Democrats voted for work requirements — the other 149 voted against any work expectation whatsoever for able-bodied welfare recipients.