Dem Rep. Pettersen: We Can’t Have Medicaid Work Requirements Because a Disproportionate Amount Are Addicts
On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) argued that work requirements for Medicaid for able-bodied adults will make it “impossible for people to actually qualify for Medicaid benefits.” Because “within the Medicaid population, you have a disproportionate amount of people who are struggling with addiction, because it impacts their income. And so, what you’re doing are people who have this disease who are unable to get the help that they need or unable to work, and you’re setting them up.”
Host Jake Tapper asked, “House Republicans are, meanwhile, eyeing a wide array of potential changes to Medicaid, which is access to lower-income people, and who qualifies for it. One of the ideas being bandied about is to add work requirements for able-bodied adults who receive Medicaid. Do you think that’s reasonable?”
Pettersen answered, “What these work requirements are going to do is it’s going to make it so impossible for people to actually qualify for Medicaid benefits. These are definitely not workable. Actually, within the Medicaid population, you have a disproportionate amount of people who are struggling with addiction, because it impacts their income. And so, what you’re doing are people who have this disease who are unable to get the help that they need or unable to work, and you’re setting them up. This is really life or death. And so, work requirements are just a way to get around — to push people off of covering Medicaid at the people who desperately need it. And when you think about people with disabilities, our most vulnerable kids, 40% of kids across the United States qualify, rely on Medicaid for care, and 40% of our pregnancies are supported through the Medicaid program. So, this is absolutely — this is a way for them to cut Medicaid like we’ve been warning about, and it’s going to be disastrous for millions of Americans.”
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