If Work Is Punitive, What Is a Lifetime of Government Dependency?

Since the One, Big, Beautiful Bill introduced work requirements for Medicaid and expanded requirements for food stamps, “experts” on the Left have been trying their hardest to paint able-bodied adults being employed as “punitive.”

As FGA has pushed back on in the past, the way the Left talks about work requirements, you’d think Republicans are requiring single moms with newborns to clock in at the factory.

The truth is able-bodied adults are the single largest group on Medicaid and the fastest-growing group on food stamps, and roughly half of the able-bodied adults on food stamps have no kids at home. Despite open jobs in their communities—7.6 million across the country—most of them still don’t work at all.

Able-bodied adults without young children are the people work requirements are targeting, because they can work—they’re just not. And it’s not unreasonable to expect a little participation from these individuals in exchange for taxpayer-funded welfare.

Allowing able-bodied adults to sit at home and receive welfare benefits without expecting them to work at all is the real punitive action here. It robs them of their potential, expects little of them, and denies them the chance at a better life. It announces to the country that their leaders expect very little of them and their communities don’t need them. That’s a worse punishment than any part-time job.

And that’s all the work requirement is—a part-time job. Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, able-bodied adults on food stamps between the ages 19 and 64 without young children at home are expected to work, train, or volunteer for a minimum of 80 hours per month. On Medicaid, a similar requirement exists for able-bodied adults eligible through Medicaid expansion. These individuals are expected to work, train, or volunteer 80 hours per month or earn at least $580 per month. Depending on where they live, many states’ entry-level wages are high enough that this Medicaid work requirement could be met by working just eight hours per week. It’s a modest requirement and hardly punitive.

Work requirements work

The benefits of work cannot be understated. A job is so much more than a paycheck—it’s a pathway to a better life. Work provides stability, structure, independence, and community. It’s good for mental health and well-being. And for parents of older children, having a stable job is an invaluable example to the next generation about the importance of self-sufficiency and hard work.

These individuals have a lot to offer, and a work requirement encourages them to reach their potential.

States that have actually implemented work requirements have seen them succeed. In Mississippi, Missouri, Florida, and Arkansas, able-bodied adults who left welfare for work saw their incomes double within a year, then kept climbing from there. Recipients found jobs across more than 1,000 different industries, touching nearly every corner of the American economy.

When Arkansas implemented a Medicaid work requirement, tens of thousands of able-bodied adults returned to work and saw their incomes rise—real proof that a modest work requirement helps people build better lives.

But what if there aren’t any jobs where they live?

There are 7.6 million open jobs in this country as of May 2026, and roughly 60 percent of new jobs in the economy don’t typically require a college degree. Most communities, especially urban areas where the majority of people on food stamps and Medicaid live, have ample job opportunities and resources to locate those opportunities.

That said, if someone truly cannot find work in their community, the work requirement provides other options besides sitting on the sidelines, specifically volunteering and training to fulfill the hours.

It’s time for states to get on board and stop watering work requirements down

Work requirements only work when states actually enforce them. States now have an incentive to implement work requirements to lower eligibility and payment error rates in their food stamp and Medicaid programs ahead of federal penalties. If they have any interest in avoiding the penalties, states will need to embrace the requirement instead of workarounds to promote welfare over work.

For example, the “no good cause” exemption let states exempt up to eight percent of able-bodied adults from the food stamp work requirement without giving any reason at all. Before reforms took hold, more than 30 states were using this exemption to sidestep the very requirement lawmakers put in place.

Medicaid is now at risk of the same drift. As states stand up new Medicaid work requirements ahead of the January 2027 deadline, dozens are already planning to let enrollees self-attest that they’re too medically frail to work—no verification required. Managed care organizations, which are paid more for every enrollee they keep on the books, have a financial incentive to sign off on those exemptions. Left unchecked, these will make the work requirement meaningless, the same way they did in food stamps for years.

Reforms that work: Putting guardrails on welfare

States and Congress already took a major step forward with the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, which extends work requirements to Medicaid for the first time. The job now is to make sure that the promise of a stronger program is kept.

Lawmakers should close the loopholes that have hollowed out work requirements in the past, require real documentation for exemptions, and give legislatures—not agency bureaucrats—the final say over waivers. That’s how we keep work requirements intact, fully implement the One, Big, Beautiful Bill’s reforms, and keep the safety net strong for those who need it.

More on this from FGA

Research: How CMS Can Block States From Abusing Exemptions To Medicaid Work Requirements
At least 29 states are already planning to let Medicaid enrollees self-attest that they’re too medically frail to work, no verification required.

Research: To Maximize the Reforms in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, Blue States Must Be Held Accountable
In 1995, blue states made up just over half of the nation’s cash welfare caseload; by 2024, that share had climbed to 87 percent.

Research: Congress and the Trump Administration Are Strengthening Work Requirements and Protecting the Truly Needy on Food Stamps
In 2023, more than 80 percent of able-bodied adults without dependents on food stamps were exempt from work requirements.

Research: States Should Close the Door on Welfare Fraud
Welfare lobbyists are pushing states to fold multiple welfare programs into a single sign-on system under names like “One Door” and “No Wrong Door.”

Research: Legislative Approval for Work Requirement Waivers Can End Gimmicks and Loopholes Used by Bureaucrats
States have used loopholes and gimmicks to waive work requirements so aggressively that only about one in four able-bodied adults on food stamps is actually subject to one.

Research: Medicaid Work Requirements Work: For Proof, Look To Arkansas
When Arkansas required able-bodied Medicaid enrollees to work, tens of thousands went back to work and saw their incomes rise within a year.

Research: Why Food Stamp Work Requirements Should Include More Able-Bodied Adults
Expanding food stamp work requirements to more able-bodied adults would save taxpayers more than $175 billion.