Congressional Republicans are poised to make massive spending cuts to the Medicaid program that provides health insurance to millions of Americans — in part by enacting federal Medicaid work requirements that they claim won’t affect the most vulnerable recipients. But data analysis shows that poor middle-aged and older women would be among the most impacted.

Republicans have repeatedly said that mandating work requirements is aimed at able-bodied adults without dependents, or “capable adults who choose not to work,” as Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, a key Republican budget policymaker, described it in a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

House lawmakers are trying to advance a budget reconciliation bill that would cut about $715 billion over 10 years from the Medicaid program, the federal-state health insurance program for nearly 80 million Americans, including caregivers, children and people with disabilities. The effort is tied to President Donald Trump’s policy priority of extending tax cuts that benefit wealthy people the most.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates at least 13.7 million people altogether would become uninsured if the current legislation is approved, including at least 7.7 million people impacted by the changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The bill does not extend enhanced premium tax credits for ACA coverage that are set to expire at the end of the year, also potentially raising the cost of insurance for millions of people.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to get the full House to pass “one big, beautiful bill,” as Trump has described it, before the end of this month, in part by making Medicaid recipients ages 19-64 prove they’re working 80 hours a month, described in the legislation as “community engagement.” There are exemptions to the requirement, including if someone has a disability or is a caregiver — but congressional Democrats and health advocates have warned those people risked coverage loss if they need to show frequent proof of that exemption.

Read the full article about new Medicaid work rules by Barbara Rodriguez at The 19th.