Medicaid work requirements may end up costing taxpayers

House Republicans continue to push Medicaid work requirements in negotiations over the federal debt ceiling.

In Ohio, one group said work requirements create more bureaucracy for people to navigate and do nothing to eliminate barriers to employment.

Amy Rohling McGee, president of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, explained Ohioans already face more barriers to employment and wage growth compared to people in other states. She argued forcing them to worry about whether they will have the ability to treat chronic diseases or mental health conditions will not help them join the workforce.

“We want to be lessening those barriers,” McGee contended. “Especially for people who have lower incomes right now, who may be wanting to move up to jobs that have higher wages, but right now have a lot of challenges before them in doing that.”

House Republicans’ debt ceiling bill mandates states enact 80-hour-per-month work requirements for certain types of Medicaid enrollees, claiming it would save the federal government more than $109 billion over the next decade.

More than 3 million Ohioans currently rely on Medicaid. McGee pointed out many Ohioans on Medicaid who are not working a paid job are full-time caregivers.

“They might be caring for a relative who has an illness or disability; they might be caring for their children,” McGee observed. “They are potentially saving taxpayers by providing that care.”

According to a recent analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, around one-point-seven million people nationwide would lose Medicaid coverage if the changes became law.