Bad news for Medicaid recipients: Trump’s new plan could affect 10 million with this new tougher requirements

New legislative proposals from Republican members in the House of Representatives could have significant consequences for tens of millions of Americans currently using Medicaid or food stamp programs.

The legislation aims to cut nearly $1 trillion from the cost of the two programs, both of which are designed to provide financial support for low-income Americans. The effort is a part of the GOP’s attempts to cut spending, key to President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Currently more than 71 million people in the United States are enrolled in Medicaid, while around 42 million are in receipt of food stamps. The growth in availability in these programs has seen the cost sky-rocket and the Republicans are looking to alter the requirements to cut the number of people on each program.

CNN reports that the proposal includes a new requirement which requires certain Medicaid recipients, aged between 19 and 64, to complete at least 80 hours of work per month to retain their benefits. This could also include some form of community service, education or work program.

This would be the first time in the 60-year history of Medicaid that a work requirement has been included in the program. Republicans in Congress have insisted that the changes would not affect vulnerable, elderly or disabled recipients, but experts have questioned those claims.

Michael Karpman, a principal research associate at think tank Urban Institute, argued: “We expect that millions of adults will lose coverage under work requirements, including many who are working, who are looking for a job, who are unable to work because of a health condition or disability or who are meeting some other qualifying activity, but just don’t successfully report it because they just have difficulty dealing with the bureaucracy of the new work reporting system.”

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