EDITORIAL: Work requirements send a message about expectations

Democrats have long promoted a culture of cradle-to-grave government dependency under the guise of compassion. Now they fear that Donald Trump may have other ideas. Let’s hope so.

Stateline news reports that congressional Republicans may impose a work requirement on Medicaid, the government health care program for the poor. Currently none of the 50 states has such a mandate.

It wasn’t always such. During Mr. Trump’s first term, 13 states received permission to impose work rules on some Medicaid recipients. Nine more were going through the process when voters bounced Mr. Trump from office in 2020. Nevada was not among them.

The Biden administration eventually rescinded all of the approvals. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on the issue.

But the matter moves to the front burner now that Mr. Trump will return to the White House. A handful of states — Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee — are again prepared to seek a thumbs up from the federal government to ensure that many of those who are covered by Medicaid in those states also find gainful employment.

In fact, this shouldn’t be controversial. One of the country’s largest welfare programs, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, already requires that many recipients work in order to receive benefits. This is intended, the enabling statute explains, to “end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage.” The same principle applies to the 72.4 million Americans on Medicaid, particularly given that the program’s eligibility requirements have been widely expanded in recent years.

Those who are incapable of working for physical or other reasons should be exempted from any employment mandates. But the goal should be to eventually wean recipients off taxpayer assistance. Regular and productive work is one means of moving in that direction.

Many Democrats argue that work requirements are cruel and ineffective. Stateline notes that when Arkansas experimented with Medicaid work rules, many people lost coverage “because they had trouble verifying that they were complying with the rules.” But that’s an indictment of bureaucratic red tape and inertia rather than of the requirement itself. Even if most Medicaid recipients would already meet a work requirement, or face barriers making employment impossible, identifying able-bodied adults who receive taxpayer-funded health insurance while choosing not to work would be a worthwhile exercise.

More importantly, work requirements for government assistance send a message about expectations and responsibilities. The Trump administration should give states the freedom to experiment with such mandates for Medicaid recipients.