US EditionIowa lawmakers vote to institute Medicaid work requirements, sending bill to Gov. Reynolds
- On May 15, 2025, Iowa lawmakers passed a bill establishing an 80-hour monthly work requirement for participants in the state’s Medicaid expansion program, affecting 171,000 enrollees.
- The bill follows Governor Kim Reynolds’ federal waiver request to codify work and community engagement requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents, amid a broader GOP effort to reduce Medicaid spending.
- Critics, including Democrats and protestors, argue that the legislation creates paperwork burdens and risks cutting coverage for up to 180,000 Iowans, while supporters say it promotes workforce reentry and fiscal responsibility.
- The Congressional Budget Office projects that similar national proposals could lower deficits by $880 million from 2025 to 2034 but cause 8.6 million people to lose health insurance by 2034.
- The Iowa bill signals a continued GOP strategy to impose work requirements on entitlement programs to offset Trump-era tax cuts, raising concerns about broader impacts on Medicaid and healthcare access.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Work requirements for state Medicaid sent to Gov. Reynolds
DES MOINES, Iowa -- While the Iowa House and Senate are working through the state budget for the next fiscal year; priorities from the majority party are getting passed in between. In a vote down party lines, the Iowa Senate approved Senate File 615, which requires 80 hours of work per month for those able to work on state Medicaid expansion. The Senate Republican caucus agreed with an amendment from the Iowa House that strikes a disabled worker…
Iowa Senate sends expanded Medicaid work requirements bill back to the House • Iowa Capital Dispatch
Sen. Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, spoke May 13, 2025 on the legislation to implement work requirements for Iowa's expanded Medicaid program. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)The Iowa Senate on Tuesday sent back to the House a bill to implement work requirements for the Medicaid program, although the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has already requested a waiver from the federal government to implement similar requirements…
Marietta Daily Journal
Iowa Senate sends expanded Medicaid work requirements bill back to the House
The Iowa Senate on Tuesday sent back to the House a bill to implement work requirements for the Medicaid program, although the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has already requested a waiver from the federal government to implement…
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