Starting January 1, 2020 the new Medicaid work requirements for able bodied people is supposed to go into effect.  Governor Whitmer and the Democratic Party are not happy about that.

The question I have is; why does the Governor and the Democratic Party have such a big problem with incentivizing people to work?

January 1st most, not all but most, able-bodied adults between the ages of 19-61 who are enrolled in Michigan’s Medicaid expansion will have to work an average of 20 hours per week or 80 hours per month. Does that sound unreasonable to you?  If for some reason they search and cannot find any job I could understand the concern but under the Trump economy we do not have that problem.

In an event with Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin held yesterday in Lansing Monday to encourage people to enroll for insurance under the federal health law, Governor Whitmer stated that pausing the “punitive” requirements is the “most reasonable thing" to prevent people from losing health care coverage.

Governor Whitmer went on to say:

This is just about taking away health care

Why would expecting able bodied people to work be “punitive” and have a goal of only wanting to take peoples, free to them, healthcare away?  Perhaps it is attempting to get them to work part time and get them back into providing somethings for themselves and their families.

Not all able bodied people must work under the new law exemptions include pregnant mothers, people with disabilities, caretakers of disabled dependents, caretakers of children under age 6 and individuals who have a medical condition that results in a work limitation.

Again sounds reasonable to me, why not Governor Whitmer and the Democratic Party.

Last September Whitmer urged lawmakers to suspend the work requirement if it puts any Michigan Medicaid recipient at risk of losing their health care coverage.  Well Governor Whitmer does that not defeat the purpose?

Recently Whitmer increased the number of assets somebody can have to qualify for food, cash and emergency assistance.  Starting Dec. 1 she increased those assets qualifiers from $500 to $15,000 in assets like cash.

Now this; sounds like a pattern to me.

 

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