More than 9,200 Adults Found Employment Thanks to Medicaid Work Requirements in Arkansas
- BY FGA
Naples, FL — Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirement succeeded in helping able-bodied adults find employment and move off the program, according to a new study from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA).
Arkansas’ ObamaCare expansion enrolled 54 percent more adults than promised, nearly half of whom did not work at all. But after the work requirement was implemented in June 2018, more than 14,000 able-bodied Arkansans left Medicaid due to increased incomes, an indicator that the work requirement was putting Arkansans on the path of independence. More than 9,200 expansion adults found employment, and less than 2,000 Arkansans returned to Medicaid once they were allowed back on the program.
The work requirement was also succeeding in making the state’s Medicaid program more sustainable in the long run, creating estimated taxpayer savings of at least $300 million per year.
“This report is simply the latest proof of what we already know—work requirements help people. The data and the stories of real Arkansans who are now better off speak for themselves,” said Nic Horton, research director at FGA and co-author of the paper. “Arkansas’ work requirement has been wildly successful and other states should take note. If you want to refocus your Medicaid program on the truly needy and rein in out-of-control costs, Arkansas is showing how it’s done.”
A federal judge paused Arkansas’ work requirement program in March 2019. Arkansas is appealing the ruling, and the Trump administration continues to approve state waivers requesting Medicaid work requirements.
The full report, including stories from real Arkansans who have found careers thanks to Medicaid work requirements, can be viewed here.
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The Foundation for Government Accountability is a non-profit, multi-state think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, and work reform. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.
