Senator Raphael Warnock has spoken eloquently about the harms of Medicaid work requirements. He points out that a lot of people who fall short on these requirements tend to lose jobs for reasons unrelated to work. His comments come amidst continued debate over a Republican House budget resolution. This resolution would be a huge $1 trillion cut to Medicaid, directly threatening the health and economic livelihood of millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid for critical health care services.
The problem was highlighted by the story of Heather Payne, a former travel nurse. In 2022, she lost the ability to work after enduring three strokes. Now, she is faced with overwhelming medical debt. Payne’s been limited by her health insurance plan, which she estimates has led to “tens of thousands of dollars” in out-of-pocket costs. This is largely due to her care needs not being adequately covered.
As Congress debates budget measures, the Congressional Budget Office has indicated that Republicans cannot meet their fiscal goals without implementing cuts to Medicaid. In light of these changes, Warnock staunchly opposed the new work reporting requirements, which were an egregious overreach. He pointed out that rather than promoting work, these requirements would put up new hurdles for people who need health care assistance.
“The work reporting requirements are not incentivizing work. There’s no evidence of that,” Warnock stated. Additionally, he noted that such regulatory overreach would hurt the very hardworking Americans who already have a hard time accessing and affording the services they need.
Georgia provides a useful backdrop for this discussion. It is the only state requiring people on Medicaid to report their work activity since these requirements were rolled out starting July 1, 2023. The program has been plagued by underwhelming enrollment numbers. Only 7,000 have signed up, despite the fact that almost 500,000 of Louisiana’s residents lack health care coverage. Senator Warnock further stressed that Arkansas and Georgia, both Republican-led states, have tested similar, controversial work requirements. The results were sobering, exposing the unforeseen dangers of such policies.
Payne’s personal story highlights the potential human cost of these legislative decisions. “I really do love nursing so much, and I cannot continue to do it the same way that I used to do it since my strokes,” she shared, expressing her frustration over the hurdles faced by those requiring assistance.
The House Republican budget plan would impose about $880 billion in cuts through 2034, mainly to programs such as Medicaid. Warnock warned that as written, existing proposals would put Medicaid coverage for millions at risk. By 2034, work requirements could result in the loss of benefits for 9.7 million to 14.4 million people.
As one of the most dogged defenders of the work requirements, Rep. he says they are absolutely essential for ensuring help gets to people that genuinely need it the most. “When so many Americans who are truly in need rely on Medicaid for life-saving services, Washington can’t afford to undermine the program further by subsidizing capable adults who choose not to work,” he stated. He added, “That’s why our bill would implement sensible work requirements.”
Warnock argued that this kind of thinking was fundamentally wrong. “What we see is that this is a good way to kick a lot of people off of their health care — hardworking everyday Americans who are struggling,” he asserted. He condemned the reverse logic built into policies that reward restricting access to health care instead of expanding it.
The nation remains one of the few industrialized countries without universal health coverage, raising questions about equity in access to essential medical services. As legislators look to craft policies moving forward, they need to keep in their minds stories like that of Heather Payne. Her experience illustrates the tangible effects of their legislative choices on real people.