Understanding welfare work requirements: new eligibility rules for SNAP and Medicaid
Understanding welfare work requirements: new eligibility rules for SNAP and Medicaid
Key Points
- With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill in July 2025, more recipients of Medicaid and SNAP benefits will have to work or engage in other qualifying activities to receive the support they need.
- The successful administration of the SNAP and Medicaid work requirements will be critical. Both state governments and beneficiaries will have to figure out how to navigate the updated programs.
- Work requirements are only a first step in reforming the welfare system. To spark real change, state lawmakers should explore a “One Door” approach to managing safety net and workforce services.
Table of Contents
Big changes are in process for some recipients of Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps) benefits and for the state governments that administer the programs.
Medicaid is the nation’s largest safety net (government assistance or benefits, public assistance, or welfare) program. It helps cover medical costs for families with limited incomes, older adults, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. Recent data shows that about 71 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid.
SNAP, the second largest government assistance program, helps low-income families buy food. Around 42 million Americans currently rely on SNAP benefits.
With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) in July 2025, more recipients of Medicaid and SNAP benefits will have to work or engage in other qualifying activities to receive the vital support they need.
With the new work requirements, lawmakers aim to encourage people who can work to join the workforce and ultimately lift themselves and their families out of poverty. But for the requirements to have the desired impact, both state governments and beneficiaries will have to figure out how to successfully navigate the updated programs. Challenges lie ahead for everyone involved.
What are welfare work requirements?
Work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid require some recipients to work, train, or volunteer for a certain number of hours per month to remain eligible for benefits.
The requirements generally apply to “able-bodied adults” who receive public assistance. The federal government defines able-bodied adults as most adults under age 65 who aren’t disabled and who don’t have a dependent child under a certain age.
The new federal law says states have to adopt these work requirements, but the states are the primary administrators of Medicaid and SNAP. As a result, the states will verify recipients’ documentation of qualifying activities or their exemption status.
What are the Medicaid work requirements under the new federal law?
Beginning January 1, 2027, some able-bodied Medicaid recipients ages 19-64 will have to meet work requirements.
To be eligible for benefits, recipients will have to take part in 80 hours per month of qualifying activities, including:
- Full- or part-time employment
- Job or vocational training programs
- Community service or volunteer opportunities
- Higher education programs
States will redetermine the eligibility of Medicaid recipients every six months.
Several groups of individuals will be exempt from meeting the work requirements, including, among others:
- People who care for a child under 14 years of age
- Pregnant women or those who need postpartum medical care
- Caretakers of a disabled relative
- People who have a disability or health condition that prevents them from fulfilling the work requirement
- Current or former foster children under the age of 26
- Native Americans and Alaska Natives
- People who are incarcerated or have been in the last three months
- Veterans with a 100% disability rating
The OBBB also provides a temporary opt-out process (known as a waiver) for states with an unemployment rate over 8% or 1.5 times the national unemployment rate. These states’ citizens could struggle to meet the work requirements because of particularly high barriers to work.
The states will get more specific implementation and reporting instructions from the federal government in June 2026, and they could then decide to apply more restrictive work requirements than those in the OBBB.
What are the current Medicaid work requirements in Georgia?
About 2.2 million Georgians were enrolled in Medicaid as of May 2025, and around 67% of the adult beneficiaries were already working.
Georgia has a head start compared to many other states that don’t have previous experience with Medicaid work requirements. The state implemented the Georgia Pathways to Coverage program in 2023 to provide valuable health care assistance to low-income Georgians who aren’t eligible for traditional Medicaid.
The Pathways to Coverage program supports adults ages 19-64 whose household income is less than 100% of the federal poverty line. To receive benefits, recipients have to take part in 80 hours per month of qualifying activities similar to those listed above.
The Pathways program has slightly different exemptions than those in the OBBB. For example, adults are exempt if they take care of a child under age 6 instead of age 14. Recipients also only have to verify their exemptions or their involvement in qualifying activities when they apply for benefits and when they renew their application each year.
Both administrators and enrollees have run into challenges with the Pathways program, but Georgia’s previous experience with work requirements will be an advantage going forward. It’s important to note, though, that the current requirements for the Pathways program may change with the implementation of the OBBB.
What are the SNAP work requirements under the new federal law?
Many SNAP recipients faced new work requirements as of November 1, 2025. The groups of people below now have to meet these requirements:
- Able-bodied adults ages 18-64 without dependent children (in the past, this only applied to people through age 54)
- Parents whose youngest child is 14 or older
- Veterans
- People experiencing homelessness
- Former foster children
Like with Medicaid, individuals can meet the work requirement by working, volunteering, or participating in an approved educational program for at least 80 hours per month. People who aren’t able to meet these requirements can only receive SNAP benefits for three months every three years.
States can also be more restrictive with the work requirements, but they can only temporarily opt out of the enforcement of these requirements if their unemployment rate is 1.5 times the national average.
In Georgia in particular, about 1.3 million people, or over 705,000 households, receive food stamps each month. About 69% of these households have kids, and 28% include an older adult or a person with a disability. It’s noteworthy that about 37% of Georgia’s SNAP recipients already live in households with a working family member.
What are the pros and cons of work requirements?
The updated SNAP and Medicaid work requirements will bring both opportunities and challenges to beneficiaries and state governments.
Pros:
- Family and community well-being: When people take rewarding jobs, they’re setting foot on a pathway out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency. The families of those who work are also more stable, and strong families can change entire communities for the better.
- Health benefits: Work brings a sense of dignity, purpose, and self-worth to people. As a result, working adults often experience less anxiety, fewer symptoms of depression, a decreased risk of suicide, and lower mortality rates. The children of employed people also tend to have better mental and physical health.
- Private health insurance options: Some of the people who join the workforce will become eligible for private health insurance through their employers. This will both bring stability to workers and their families and reduce the number of Medicaid recipients.
- Local economic growth: Increased labor force participation helps businesses grow and thrive. This then boosts local economies and spreads greater prosperity to surrounding areas.
Cons:
- Barriers to work: Many recipients of government benefits, including those who are able-bodied, face multiple barriers to work. These can include a lack of childcare, a lack of transportation, and age-related biases. Some Americans who rely on Medicaid and SNAP also live in rural or impoverished areas. These communities often have fewer jobs and educational or volunteer opportunities that would enable people to meet the work requirements close to home.
- Difficulties with reporting work or exemptions: Many Medicaid and SNAP recipients could face hardships related to the reporting requirements. Administrative hurdles, a lack of internet access, and the difficulty of documenting exemptions or unstable earnings may cause people to lose benefits.
- High administrative costs: Implementing and enforcing work requirements demands significant administrative resources from state agencies. States will need to act quickly and efficiently to prepare to verify both the eligibility and ongoing work status of public assistance recipients.
- Benefits cliffs: Without additional reforms, work requirements put people at risk of experiencing benefits cliffs. By taking a job, an individual’s income could increase too much to qualify for assistance, but it still might not be enough to cover all the essential needs like food, health care, housing, and child care. This could leave people worse off, despite their efforts to meet the requirements. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that around 5.3 million people could lose much needed Medicaid support and about 2.4 million people could lose essential SNAP benefits because of this difficult situation.
What else can policymakers do to reform the safety net?
Work is crucial to overall well-being because it’s a gateway to upward mobility and a better future. Many public assistance recipients who can work should be able to meet work requirements and find rewarding opportunities. But these requirements are only a first step.
To spark real change for those who are struggling, state lawmakers should explore a “One Door” approach to managing government benefits and workforce services. With this strategy, both benefits programs and job training assistance would be linked together. This would allow states to connect people to work while ensuring they receive the vital support they need.
Ultimately, a One Door policy goes far beyond work requirements. It has the power to provide public assistance recipients with a clearer path into the workforce and toward financial independence. This, in turn, will help people realize their full potential as human beings and find opportunities to truly flourish.
Additional resources
Keeping vulnerable Americans on track: one door out of poverty and into opportunity
Alliance for Opportunity
One Big Beautiful Bill takes steps toward a work-first safety net, but states will have to act
Alliance for Opportunity
What states can expect with the new SNAP match: options to reduce state error rates
Alliance for Opportunity
June 2025 Medicaid & CHIP enrollment data highlights
Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services
Chart book: SNAP helps struggling families put food on the table
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
A closer look at who benefits from SNAP: state-by-state fact sheets
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Georgia Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Pathways to Coverage: looking back two years and into the future
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute
Are work requirements good or bad?
Georgia Center for Opportunity
Food stamp program work requirements
Georgia Department of Human Services
Expanding Georgians’ access to health care
Georgia Pathways to Coverage
How new federal legislation will affect health care costs and access for Americans
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Implementing work requirements on a national scale: what we know from state waiver experience
KFF
Medicaid.gov
Medicaid.gov
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s work-based welfare reforms are just the first step
Sutherland Institute
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
U.S. Department of Agriculture
How many people are on Medicaid in Georgia?
USAFacts
How will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act impact Medicaid?
USAFacts
Image Credit: Canva
