Blog

Will the Work Requirement Changes for Medicaid Affect Florida?

You may have heard that under the current administration there will be changes to the work requirements associated with Medicaid. What has actually happened is that the current administration has made this a state level decision. So, if your state seeks no changes to the work requirement, then nothing will change.

Currently, the states that have sought changes to their Medicaid work requirements and were granted these changes are: Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. There are eleven other states that have applied for changes as well: Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia. As of February 2019 there is nothing on the books for a change in Florida.

The general idea behind the changes is that states want to get able-bodied people back into the work force. The exceptions of course would include pregnant women, disabled people, and the elderly.

Nationally, as much as 60% of the people who receive Medicaid are already in the work force so the amount of people affected by the changes won’t be as high as some originally thought.

There was an attempt to change the work requirements last year in Florida with House Bill 751 but the bill died and is not expected to be attempted again.