Why state leaders needed to step back from work requirements

State work requirements for Medicaid recipients appear to be scuttled, at least for this year. That’s a good thing because research and experience show the numbers don’t add up for participants or for taxpayers.

The bill passed by the Iowa Senate, Senate File 538, required the Department of Human Services to petition the federal government for permission to implement Medicaid requirements beyond those already in place at the federal level. Those new stipulations centered on work requirements. Specifically, “able-bodied” recipients would need to work or volunteer a minimum of 20 hours each week, and government officials would need to make larger investments in software and staffing in order to track the changes with the increased veracity required by the bill.

State investments, which the Legislative Services Agency projected would cost millions, were a significant blow to the proposal, adding fuel to opponents’ warnings of the bill producing no taxpayer savings. But the more likely end of the proposal, according to Gazette news reporting, appears to be at the hand of House Republicans, who are refusing to take up the measure without additional information related to people impacted and taxpayer cost.

While Iowa has debated the possibility, the national landscape on the issue also has changed.

Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/subject/opinion/staff-columnist/iowa-mediciad-work-requirements-sf-538-human-services-state-budget-taxpayer-cost-house-senate-legislature-20190401