Thoughts on Medicaid Work Requirements
Editor's Note: The disability community is increasingly preferring to use identity-first language (disabled person) in place of person-first language (person with a disability). This is because many in the community view disability as being a core component of identity, much like race and gender. Some members of the community, such as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, still prefer person-first language. Both should be considered valid. Articles shared in this newsletter may contain one or the other (or both) depending on the author's preference, and if they themselves have a disability.
On June 1, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) shared their intent to publish an Interim Final Rule (IFR) on Wednesday, June 3rd, regarding new Medicaid community engagement and work requirements. Medicaid work requirements do nothing to prevent fraud. They only serve to punish disabled people for existing. The new requirements will push those who were already eligible off Medicaid. This whole thing is about the idea that people are only worth what they can produce. If people are not working they are not producing and are therefor worthless in the eyes if the current administration. There isn’t any other explanation for the new stricter rules.
People who are unable to work for whatever reason deserve to exist simply because they are people. There isn’t any reason why it has to be so hard to simply exist. There will always be people with disabilities who cannot work and who need to be supported. Funding needs to be available for the needs of everyone who cannot work. It needs to stop being framed as something that is shameful or damaging to society.
The current administration seems to believe that anyone not working is being lazy and refusing to work. It seems to believe that harsh rules will force these people to work. Adding in new work requirements only makes it harder for those who are already struggling to survive. There may be individuals who are unable to produce the required paperwork or may struggle to understand the rules they need to follow. There isn’t any reason for any of this other than cruelty.
Many organizations will showcase disabled people who have succeeded and done great things “despite their disability”. While this is important it often comes at the expense of those who are unable to work. Because the implication is often that those who are not working just aren't trying hard enough. There’s a sense of “if this person can do it anyone can do it” that create more conflict for people who are unable to work. The idea that some people cannot work needs to framed as an acceptable part of being human rather than something shameful or damaging to society.
Additional Links
Important Update on Medicaid Work Requirements Press Release by Jess Davidson on June 1, 2026 at the American Association of People with Disabilities
"The research could not be clearer: work requirements do not increase workforce participation or help people get jobs; work requirements get people kicked off of Medicaid. For the millions of Americans with disabilities who depend on Medicaid not just for doctor visits but for the personal care, medications, employment supports, and services that keep them alive and living in their communities, a loss of coverage is not a mere inconvenience; it can be a death sentence."
The White House Just Made Medicaid Work Requirements Even Worse by Julia Métraux on June 4, 2026 at Mother Jones
"Under the interim final rule, people with certain conditions who are already on Medicaid will no longer be automatically considered “medically frail,” a classification that exempts them from work requirements; they must provide further proof, beyond their diagnosis, that they are “greatly impaired” from working. "
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