Mississippi’s Work Requirement For Medicaid Is Just An Excuse To Expand The Welfare State
In a move that’s sparked debate, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill to extend Medicaid under Obamacare. Speaker Jason White highlighted a key feature to win Senate support: a work requirement. White stated, “They want to see a work requirement in the bill, and we’ve included that.”
However, there’s a twist: Mississippi already has an implied work requirement due to existing Medicaid policies, and this expansion might just negate that.
A Closer Look at the Current Work Clause
The roots of this provision trace back to Section 1401 of Obamacare. The law had initially required all states to make Medicaid available to low-income earners—a mandate softened by a subsequent Supreme Court ruling. Currently, to be eligible for insurance subsidies, most individuals must display earnings at least at the poverty level—unless they’re legal aliens in a five-year waiting phase for Medicaid eligibility.
Advocacy groups label this as the “coverage gap,” a dilemma for low-earners in non-expansion states who can’t get subsidies. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, many ”childless adults with incomes below the poverty level have no options for affordable coverage, as Obamacare subsidies start at the poverty income threshold.”
Yet, the practical solution seems to evade the discussion: adults could elevate their income to the poverty level to qualify for coverage.
The Encouragement to Work as it Stands
With 80.4 percent of those ineligible for subsidies in Mississippi being childless adults, the current system inadvertently promotes gainful employment. Essentially, Mississippi’s structure allows individuals to receive subsidized health coverage by maintaining steady work hours.
Following the math and wage hikes post-COVID, at a $10 hourly wage, one needs to work 29 hours weekly to hit the poverty line and snag those subsidies. A $15 hourly rate cuts it down to about 20 hours per week.
Without Medicaid expansion, Mississippi has created a straightforward eligibility formula—work equates to coverage. This does away with the need for a state bureau to monitor the work efforts of those on Medicaid.
The Potential Impact of Medicaid Expansion
Rather than upholding this implicit work ethos, the proposed Medicaid extension could remove the impetus to work. Even as the House bill pushes a work stipulation, it’s likely to be quashed by the Biden administration.
Moreover, the bill readies Mississippi to abandon the work requirement if the federal government declines its request by a certain deadline. This pivot could shift the state from an earn-your-coverage model to a broader, no-strings-attached Medicaid expansion.
The pursuit to expand Medicaid could very well be aimed at aiding local healthcare providers. But let’s be clear: it also inches the state toward an expanded welfare paradigm and greater government reliance.
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