Buckeye Institute Issues Statement on Court Ruling on Medicaid Work Requirements

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 15 -- The Buckeye Institute issued the following statement on Feb. 14:

Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute and vice president of policy, issued the following statement on the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Gresham v. Azar that overturned Medicaid work and community engagement requirements.

"Today's ruling is a disappointment and, in the long run, will harm the very people Medicaid is designed to help.

"Under Medicaid expansion, healthy, single adults have left the workforce or reduced their work hours to become or remain eligible for Medicaid.

"While rational, The Buckeye Institute's research in Healthy and Working: Benefits of Work Requirements for Medicaid Recipients reveals that these decisions risk reducing workers' lifetime earnings by close to $1 million for people who transition off of Medicaid, by more than $212,000 for women who remain on Medicaid for their entire working life, and by more than $323,000 for men who remain on Medicaid.

"This research confirms that work and community engagement requirements can lead to better job opportunities with better quality private insurance, higher earnings, and can increase economic prosperity."