When the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law by President Trump last year, one provision in the bill implements work requirements in U.S. states that expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
That requirement kicks in January 1, 2027, now five months away, and affects an estimated 18 million poor adults who use Medicaid for medical insurance.
The month of June marked an important step, since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officially implemented the work requirements.
Chris Jacobs, a political analyst and researcher at Juniper Research Group, told American Family Radio the work requirement is small: 80 hours a month.
“We're not talking about making Grandma work 40 hours or 80 hours a month, or anything else like that,” he told “The Core” program.
In fact, the researcher explained, that 80-hour requirement is not a firm number since it’s equal to the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, or $580 in gross income a month.
“So if you're getting paid $10 an hour, then you only have to work 58 hours per month,” he explained.
When the provision was being debated, Republicans in Congress defended the work requirement for getting abled-bodied people off government dependency and into a stable job with their own health insurance.
Another reason to move more people off Medicaid, show host Walker Wildmon said, is the annual cost for Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security that are driving up the national debt to pay for them.
Federal spending for Medicaid officially hit $1 trillion annually during the 2025 calendar year, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“The urgency here to level some of this out, or at least begin to chip away at it, couldn't be overstated,” Wildmon said.
Jacobs said the federal government is operating like a giant health insurance company with an “army” of recipients who depend on it.
“I think the low-hanging fruit is going after some of the waste and the fraud,” Jacobs, describing people enrolled in Medicaid in multiple states, told the program.
