A controversial state bill in Michigan would exempt certain counties from new work requirements proposed for recipients of Medicaid. On paper, the bill looks like it would rescue rural white constituents from work requirements while imposing the new standards on their urban black counterparts. Yet the bill's likely effect may be vastly overstated—a marker of the uncertainty surrounding Republican efforts to tighten welfare.
Just last month, Michigan's senate passed a law that would require Medicaid recipients to prove that they work 29 hours a week in order to receive their benefits going forward. The state's house is now weighing the bill. So far, only four states have won approval for similar waivers from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services—Kentucky, Indiana, Arkansas, and New Hampshire—and none of these plans have gone into effect yet.
While the Michigan bill allows exemptions from work requirements for some regardless of location—including people who are pregnant; over 64; who have a disability; or are caretakers for a dependent with a disability or a family member under the age of six—the new bill before the Michigan state legislature would also waive these work requirements for anyone in counties with an unemployment rate over 8.5 percent.
[For more on this story by KRISTON CAPPS, go to https://psmag.com/economics/wo...ements-harm-everyone]
Comments (0)