From NBC News · Mike Hixenbaugh · · 1m 50s
Trump administration delays Medicaid work rules by six months
The federal government postpones enforcement of a work requirement that experts warned would strip millions of Americans of health coverage.
In brief
The federal government postpones enforcement of a work requirement that experts warned would strip millions of Americans of health coverage. The Trump administration delayed enforcing Medicaid work requirements until July one, after months of pressure from state officials and healthcare advocates warning the rollout…
Six-month delay announced
The federal government announced Friday a six-month delay in enforcing Medicaid work requirements, a central provision in President Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill.
When enforcement actually starts
The requirement technically starts January one, but under new guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, states that choose not to enforce it won't be held accountable until at least July one.
What the requirement demands
The law requires many able-bodied adults under sixty-five to prove they work, volunteer or attend school at least eighty hours a month to keep Medicaid, which provides health coverage for low-income and disabled Americans.
The predicted cost in coverage
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the work requirements alone would leave five point three million more people uninsured by twenty thirty-four and would save the federal government three hundred seventeen billion dollars.
Early implementation shows impact
In Nebraska, which launched the work requirements May one, over one thousand people have lost coverage or been denied benefits because of the new rules, according to state figures through August.
Pressure forced the delay
Five Democratic governors last month asked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to postpone implementation, saying state agencies weren't ready. A federal judge also blocked enforcement of a portion related to medically frail people.
Democrats vow to reverse the cuts
The delay comes a little more than a week after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress on a promise to reverse the GOP's cuts to healthcare and food assistance.
The headline
The Trump administration delayed enforcing Medicaid work requirements until July one, after months of pressure from state officials and healthcare advocates warning the rollout was too fast.
