Among the many Medicaid-related aspects of the recently enacted FY 2026 budget reconciliation bill – the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – is a new requirement that much of the Medicaid population be employed or participate in some acceptable form of “community engagement.”
But how will the work requirement work? How will it be implemented and enforced?
KFF has taken an in-depth look at this matter, reporting on such issues as:
- What the new law requires.
The timeline for the work requirement’s implementation.- How much money the states and the federal government stand to save by ending Medicaid
- How many people could be affected by the Medicaid work requirement – and to whom it will apply.
- eligibility for those who fail to comply with the work requirement.
- What tools the states may use to verify work status and how often such verification may be required.
- State options for imposing more stringent employment verification practices.
- State options for imposing more stringent work requirements.
- Options for how states may define non-work “community engagement” activities.
Community safety-net hospitals have a considerable stake in the answers to these questions because they serve so many low-income patients – including those covered by Medicaid who may soon find their Medicaid eligibility in jeopardy. If and when that happens, these hospitals will still need – and be expected – to provide the care the residents of their communities need – regardless of their ability to pay for that care.
Learn more about these and other aspects of the coming Medicaid work requirement in the KFF article “A Closer Look at the Work Requirement Provisions in the 2025 Federal Budget Reconciliation Law.”
