Posted on Thursday, June 19, 2025
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by Outside Contributor
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The Democrat reaction to the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” reveals an uncomfortable — and un-American — reality. The left doesn’t believe that people on welfare programs are capable of doing anything meaningful with their lives. How else do you describe the Democrat freakout over the modest work requirement that Republicans have proposed for able-bodied adults on Medicaid?
Yes, that’s right: The GOP proposal is modest. The way Democrats are talking about it, you’d think that Republicans are requiring single moms with three-day-old infants to show up at the factory for a twelve-hour shift at least six days a week. In fact, Republicans are merely asking that able-bodied adults without children work, train, or volunteer part-time as a condition of getting the taxpayers’ help. As we show in a new paper, they’d satisfy the work requirement by working less than nine hours a week at the average entry-level job — that’s right, just nine hours.
If that’s not modest, nothing is. We’re talking about millions of men and women in the prime of life with no dependents at home. They can work and should work — not just as a condition of getting Medicaid, but because work is essential to mental health, personal success, and a good life. There are 34 million able-bodied adults on Medicaid, and nearly two-thirds don’t work at all — despite 7.4 million job openings nationwide. They’re on the sidelines when America needs them in the game.
And the sidelines are where Democrats seem to want to keep them. It’s hard not to conclude that the left thinks these millions of Americans don’t have anything to offer our country. Talk about insulting. But the dim view of their fellow Americans doesn’t end there. When Democrats explain why they oppose even these modest work requirements, they effectively say these people are too stupid. To quote one of the most prominent Democrats in Congress, “They can’t fill out paperwork” or “they don’t know how to do it.” You hear the same sentiment from liberal representatives and senators alike: We can’t ask them to work because they can’t even fill out a form.
But the Democrats are wrong — and Republicans are right. The GOP work requirement is based on a deep belief in people. It says that able-bodied adults on welfare have intrinsic skills and a God-given ability to contribute to society. Ultimately, Republicans are saying these fellow Americans are not only capable of filling out paperwork, they’re capable of finding a fulfilling job that lifts them from government dependence to financial independence.
Which is exactly what work requirements do. The first state to implement a Medicaid work requirement was Arkansas in 2018 and 2019, and the experiment lasted for just ten months. In that short time, nearly 18,000 able-bodied adults increased their incomes so much, they got off Medicaid altogether. If the same policy were implemented nationwide, millions of Americans would raise their fortunes enough to rise off Medicaid rolls.
These are the same people who Democrats effectively say are too stupid to work. It’s a profound rejection of their innate human dignity and personal potential. They’re being treated as worthless, when in fact, they’re worthy of a life of deeper meaning and contribution.
Sorry, Democrats: The Republican work requirement for Medicaid is fundamentally empowering. And now, with apologies to Republicans: That’s why you should make it less modest and cover more people.
Work requirements don’t just empower able-bodied adults without children. They’re equally effective for able-bodied adults with older children. And they’re arguably more important for this bigger group, because children need parents who show them the value of work.
The GOP knows this. The House-passed version of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill had stronger work requirements for the food-stamp program, covering every able-bodied adult with kids ages seven or older. A work requirement makes sense because their kids are at school or otherwise don’t need attention every minute. These adults can work, too, and they also have a lot to offer our economy — and a lot to gain from playing their part.
If that stronger work requirement is right for food stamps, it’s right for Medicaid, too. It’s also more urgently needed, because there are nearly twice as many able-bodied adults on the program. These are people whom Democrats have written off, but Republicans should welcome them into real participation in our economy. The reality is that able-bodied adults on welfare are capable of lifting up themselves and America. What a shame that Democrats refuse to see it.
Paige Terryberry is a senior research fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability, where Addison Scherler is a data investigator.
Reprinted with permission from National Review by Paige Terryberry.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
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