Medicaid work requirement bill could strip coverage from millions unable to work.
H.R. 1452 — Ending the Cycle of Dependency Act of 2025 · Filed by Eric Burlison (R-MO) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 21, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill imposes work requirements on Medicaid recipients and SNAP (food assistance) recipients, requiring them to work or participate in work activities for at least 80 hours per month to remain eligible. States gain the option to disenroll individuals who fail to meet these requirements. The bill exempts children under 6, pregnant women, people over 60, caregivers of young children or incapacitated persons, and those in treatment or school, but significantly narrows the population eligible for assistance.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a coverage restriction tied to work capacity, not a public health or safety measure. It functions as a benefit-eligibility gate that shifts costs from federal programs to states, individuals, and healthcare providers.
What the text implies
- States gain discretion to disenroll individuals retroactively if they fail to meet work requirements, creating administrative churn and coverage gaps mid-month.
- The 80-hour threshold (roughly 20 hours/week at minimum wage) may be unachievable for people with disabilities, caregiving obligations, or in areas with insufficient job availability, effectively creating a coverage cliff rather than a work incentive.
- Pharmaceutical and healthcare companies (mapped stocks) face reduced Medicaid enrollment and lower reimbursement volume, but may benefit from higher per-patient costs if sicker, more complex patients remain enrolled.
- The bill does not require states to fund job training, childcare, or transportation—work requirements may be imposed without support infrastructure, shifting burden to individuals and nonprofits.
- Pregnant women and caregivers of children under 6 are exempt, but the exemption is narrow; a parent of a 7-year-old with no childcare faces disenrollment despite caregiving duties.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill restricts access to Medicaid and SNAP for working-age adults who cannot meet an 80-hour monthly work requirement, eliminating coverage for people with disabilities, irregular employment, caregiving duties, or barriers to employment. While framed as promoting self-sufficiency, the mechanism is a coverage loss for vulnerable populations with no guarantee of job availability or wage adequacy.
Named in the bill
Medicaid, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Social Security Act, Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, State Medicaid agencies, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Gilead Sciences (GH), Pfizer (PFE), DaVita (DVA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
Where it stands
5 cosponsors: 5 Republicans.
- Feb 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture and House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,019 characters) on Aug 11, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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