[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Health.]
By Hayden Dublois & Jonathan Ingram
Real Clear Health
What happens when you take a program intended for the truly needy, and place millions of able-bodied, working-age adults on it in an instant? We don’t have to speculate to find an answer—because in 2014, that’s exactly what happened when ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion was implemented. As a result, budgets were busted and providers struggled, all while the most vulnerable have had to continue to wait for their care.
After experiencing this disaster, many states that expanded Medicaid under ObamaCare sought to implement some form of reasonable restraint on their system. As a result, they applied for waivers from the federal government to implement commonsense Medicaid work requirements. These measures don’t apply to the truly needy. Rather, they simply require able-bodied, working-age adults to work, train, or even just volunteer on a part-time basis.
Yet, the Biden administration is already rolling back these work requirements—most recently in Michigan and Wisconsin—forcing states to relinquish control of their Medicaid rolls. Some, including a recent group of welfare reform critics, back the Biden move without taking a hard look at the evidence.
Unfortunately for them, facts matter. The evidence suggests that Medicaid work requirements have been a resounding success. When implemented in Arkansas, work requirements helped 14,000 Arkansans move off of welfare due to increased incomes and new jobs, saving taxpayers millions and freeing up resources for the most vulnerable.
These critics say our organization didn’t consider areas or times without work requirements. The reality: Our study found that before work requirements were implemented in Arkansas, most able-bodied adults on the program didn’t work at all. When connecting with the state’s Department of Workforce Services was optional, rather than mandatory, fewer than five percent ever engaged.
They say we didn’t compare those who were subject to the work requirement to those that weren’t. The reality: Our analysis compared the change in work engagement across multiple groups and found that 99 percent of expansion participants who found employment were subject to the work requirement. Just one percent of expansion enrollees who went back to work were exempt from the work requirement due to age, indicating the requirement had a significant impact on encouraging employment.
They say we ignored “the harms” that work requirements caused by stripping people of access to basic benefits. The reality: Our report found that just 13 percent of case closures were due to failure to comply with work requirements; most left the program with greater incomes and new jobs.
They say that work is fluctuating or seasonal, so individuals can’t always find work. The reality: Medicaid work requirements stipulate those who can’t find work can volunteer or receive training on a part-time basis.
They say most adult Medicaid beneficiaries work. The reality: The vast majority report no earned income at all. In Arkansas, working even 27 hours per week at a minimum wage job would have lifted these individuals above the poverty line..
Similar requirements have been equally successful in other welfare programs. For example, in states like Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, and more, those leaving food stamps were able to achieve employment, in some cases in more than 1,000 different industries, touching every corner of the economy. These new jobs led to higher wages, with incomes more than tripling on average in key states, far exceeding any loss in welfare benefits.
Facts are stubborn things. But they shine light on the truth, and the truth is that work requirements work. They have helped tens of thousands move off of the cycle of dependency and into self-sufficiency. Most people comply voluntarily and find themselves better off than they ever were on welfare. And all the while, it saves taxpayers resources and helps make room for the most vulnerable.
The Biden administration is wrong to roll back proven Medicaid work requirements—and our critics are wrong to cherry-pick the data and misrepresent our analyses. But bad politics should not be an excuse for poor public policy. The Biden administration should reverse course and allow states to maintain control over their Medicaid programs by implementing commonsense work requirements for able-bodied, working-age adults.
Hayden Dublois is the Senior Research Analyst at the Foundation for Government Accountability. Jonathan Ingram is the Vice President of Policy and Research at the Foundation for Government Accountability.
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Health.]
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
The post Biden puts Medicaid work requirements in bull's-eye appeared first on WND.
