According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Medicaid recipients must report 80 hours worked per month, which at the state minimum wage would equate to at least $580 a month.
The work requirement would apply to about 15 million of the 86 million people who receive health insurance and who would have to work the prescribed hours or apply for an exemption, that institution estimated.
Within that group, the CBO estimates that at least 1.5 million are likely to lose their Medicaid entitlement under the Republican plan, which would reduce program costs by $109 billion over 10 years.
Six major medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association, issued a statement opposing Medicaid’s work requirements, arguing that it would increase patients’ medical debt and create barriers to care .
“Health problems don’t go away, they’re still there, and if left unaddressed first, they can later lead to more complications that will ultimately cost the healthcare system even more,” said Tochi Iroku-Malize, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians .
Medicaid is essential to ensure access to health care and reduce inequalities, and any cuts would exacerbate care disparities, he added, quoting him in an NBC News report.
Negotiations on raising the federal debt limit have been going on for several weeks without an agreement being reached, as the Democrats have not complied with demands from the Republicans, who hold a majority in the House of Representatives, for cuts in social programs in order to achieve a reduction in the deficit.
For her part, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen assured that on June 1, the United States will run out of mechanisms to pay off trillions of dollars in debt, with devastating effects on the global economy.
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