House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) appears to have granted a request from Rep. Matt Gaetz to include work requirements for Medicaid in a bill that would raise the nation's debt limit.
NBC News reported that McCarthy might not have enough Republican votes to pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, a 320-page bill that would raise the debt ceiling at the expense of government programs.
But McCarthy will likely have the support of Gaetz after much of the Florida lawmaker's Medicaid work requirements plan was included in the debt ceiling bill.
The bill filed by McCarthy would force non-disabled adults receiving Medicaid to work 80 hours a month if they were not parents or primary caregivers.
"The individual works 80 hours or more per month, or has a monthly income that is at least equal to the Federal minimum wage under section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, multiplied by 80 hours," one condition in the bill states.
Individuals could also meet the requirements by attending school or doing community service.
People who were pregnant, under 19, or over 56 could also receive exemptions from the work requirements.
"Kevin McCarthy's "debt ceiling" bill? It would also fundamentally change Medicaid into a 'work or die' program," attorney Matthew Cortland wrote on Twitter. "I am alive because of #Medicaid; I will do everything I can to defend the people who rely on the program against this GOP attack."
