Medicaid work reporting requirements will mean people losing health care for no good reason

Every one of us deserves to be able to see a doctor for an injury, to afford our medications, and take our kids to check-ups — no exceptions. None of us should have to choose between getting the health care we need and paying for groceries or car repairs. 

For nearly 60 years, Medicaid has served as the safety net for folks needing health care. Medicaid, known as Medical Assistance or MA in Minnesota, ensures that when facing tough times, each of us can get essential health care we need.  

But this lifeline to care is threatened by proposed federal cuts to Medicaid. Last month, the U.S. House passed a budget resolution calling for at least $880 billion over 10 years in cuts in the committee that governs Medicaid spending. Thankfully, it’s just a resolution and doesn’t have the force of law — yet. 

One budget-cutting policy that Congress and the White House are considering is work reporting requirements, which requires some Medicaid recipients to report the number of hours they worked in the past month.  

In Minnesota, nearly 1.4 million of us get care through MA. These are babies, pregnant people, children, students receiving mental health care, adults living on low incomes or who are between jobs, people with disabilities, and older adults in nursing homes or getting care at home. 

The large majority of working-age Minnesota adults who get health care coverage through MA are working. In fact, 2 out of 3 working-age enrollees — adults aged 19-64 — work. Most of those who don’t either have a disability, are caregivers, or are in school. 

So, work requirements aren’t needed because people are already working if they can. 

Then what do these requirements do, and how do they reduce Medicaid funding?

Looking at other states’ experiences shows that these monthly reporting tasks erect barriers to getting consistent health care coverage. Too often, people wind up losing consistent coverage simply because they can’t navigate the red tape. They may miss reporting deadlines or have not received the required paperwork because they moved, for example. They subsequently lose their health care through Medicaid just because of paperwork errors even though they meet the criteria to qualify for it.

Minnesota rightly rejected work reporting requirements seven years ago, understanding that most people getting health care through MA are already working. They also knew that making people jump through reporting hoops only creates barriers for Minnesotans trying to get their medications, receive early diagnoses, or treat chronic health problems. 

Affordable, consistent health care is essential to ensuring we can work, go to school, care for children, and build thriving lives and communities. 

Our elected representatives shouldn’t be making it harder to get the care we need. 

They should be working toward solutions that allow all of us to care for ourselves and our families and contribute to our communities.