Hospitals panicking as Dems in Congress push for delay of new Medicaid work requirements slated for January

Hospitals are reportedly panicking over new Medicaid work requirements in January after President Trump slashed $1 trillion in funding for the program in 2025 — and some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing for a two-year delay of the reforms. At risk is coverage for nearly 19 million patients on Medicaid between the ages of 19 and 64 who are able-bodied and without young children.Under new rules slated to take effect on Jan.

1, they will be required to provide proof of 80 hours of work a month, including volunteering and schooling.The Congressional Budget Office estimates the work requirements will save the government $326 billion over the next 10 years. At the same time, the CBO forecasts that the number of insured will increase by 5.3 million over the next seven years because of the new rules.

State Medicaid offices will be bearing much of the logistical burden.The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities issued a report this spring claiming that the states do not have enough time to implement the process and do not have enough guidance from the feds.

“Most don’t have capacity to handle the work requirement and other onerous changes,” the report said.Community groups are calling patients, and one hospital in Indiana has been dispatching teams to low-income neighborhoods, according to The New York Times, all in an effort to avoid a drop in Medicaid reimbursements for hospitals and for patients seeking care. The process to determine eligibility will vary state-by-state but it will require enrollees to submit pay stubs or some form of hours documentation.Other states may have data-matching systems where people can be automatically renewed more easily. Freelancers, part-time employees, seasonal farm laborers and gig workers may have a more difficult time proving eligibility, according to the paper.

Ad-hoc lump sum payments and inconsistent work may make the new red tape harder to cut through. After the recent election, a coalition of Senate Democrats ...