Among the most contentious provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, are its Medicaid work requirements. Starting in 2027, able-bodied, working-age Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled through Obamacare’s expansion of the program must spend at least 80 hours a month on either work, job training, community service, or some other qualifying activity to remain eligible. Georgia maintains Medicaid work requirements of its own.

It’s important to note that truly needy patients — including pregnant women, caregivers of dependent children, and the medically frail — are exempt from these requirements. But that hasn’t stopped Democrats from accusing Republicans of consigning the vulnerable to poor health.