Instead of Work Requirements, Why Not a Jobs Guarantee?
The Trump administration has been signaling for months that it plans to implement conservative reforms to core federal welfare programs, including by allowing states to have work requirements for Medicaid. So it was no surprise on Thursday when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued guidance for “state efforts to test incentives that make participation in work or other community engagement a requirement for continued Medicaid eligibility.”
In a series of tweets announcing the policy shift, CMS Administrator Seema Verma explained the agency’s rationale that requiring eligible able-bodied adults to have jobs to qualify for Medicaid will make them healthier and less reliant on welfare in the future. “Our fundamental goal is to make a lasting and positive difference in the health and wellness of Medicaid beneficiaries,” she tweeted. She also cited a 2014 meta-analysis that concluded that “employment is beneficial for health, particularly for depression and general mental health.”
There’s one gaping hole in that reasoning, however: Ifjobs be a simpler and more effective answer?
