Five Million Could Lose Medicaid Coverage Under Republican Proposals

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Apr 17, 2025 at 7:47 AM EDT


Up to 5 million Americans stand to lose their public health care coverage should federal work requirements proposed by Republicans be enacted nationwide.

A joint analysis from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute published Monday found that a federal work-requirement policy could result in between 4.6 and 5.2 million of the projected 13.3 million Medicaid expansion enrollees in 2026 losing out on coverage.

Why It Matters

Medicaid is the primary program providing health care to lower income individuals in the U.S., with over 80 million currently enrolled. In the ongoing Congressional budget negotiations, Republicans have struggled to outline a plan which allows for spending reductions and tax breaks while avoiding cuts to one of the nation's most subscribed-to and popular programs—which President Donald Trump promised "wouldn't be touched."

Federal work requirements have been proposed by Republicans at the state and federal level as a way to condition coverage rather than cut it, while reducing government spending in the process. Democrats, however, have long opposed such measures as inconsistent with the program's aims, given the potential administrative burden and the likelihood that many deserving enrollees could lose out on coverage.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/medicaid-five-million-coverage-republican-proposals-2060878

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Link to Robert Wood Johnson & Urban Institute PUBLICATION site - How Work Requirements Would Affect Medicaid Coverage in Each Expansion State

Link to publication BRIEF (PDF) - https://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/reports/2025/rwjf482143