Work Rules in Debt Bill Risk Patchwork Impact on Most Vulnerable

House legislation to change work rules for social and health care safety net programs would hit red and blue states in different ways, broadening existing inequalities nationwide.

The work-related proposals under Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) debt ceiling bill (H.R. 2811), which passed Wednesday night, would directly hit relatively small groups of recipients of Medicaid health insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Research shows most adults on Medicaid are already working. And proposed SNAP rules, which would tighten work requirements for adults in their early 50s who receive the food assistance, wouldn’t ...