If the congress implements a uniform approach for the work requirements, it may look like a legislative template that was approved in the house two years ago. In 2023, the house passed the limit, Save, Grow Act, which contained work requirements for Medicaid, similar to that in Arkansas, but contained no clear exceptions for which justified groups – for example recipients with disabilities – could be excluded from the requirements. In 2023, the Congress budget office estimated that the measure over 10 years would save 109 billion US dollars – shortly before the cuts that the Republicans are currently thinking.
In a March report by the Urban Institute, it was found that the modeled work requirements for the limit, save, grow Act for adults between the ages of 19 and 55 would be fully implemented in the 40 states, and Washington, DC, where the access of Medicaid was expanded between 4.6 and 5.2 million recipients, would lose their justification. In addition, the researchers found that at least 10,000 adults in every state who expanded the access of Medicaid would lose cover, with more than 100,000 lost cover in 13 states.
The limit, Save, Grow Act would also have held back federal financing for participants who did not meet the work requirements for the rest of the calendar year within three months. “Before the choice, the states would either be relieved of Medicaid or maintain their cover exclusively by state funds, and this would represent a very serious dilemma for states, especially in view of the tax restrictions under which they operate,” said Karpman.