Trump administration opens door to states imposing Medicaid work requirements

The Trump administration issued guidance to states on Thursday that will allow them to compel people to work or prepare for jobs in order to receive Medicaid for the first time in the half-­century history of this fundamental piece of the nation's social safety net.

The letter to state Medicaid directors opens the door for states to cut off Medicaid benefits to Americans unless they have a job, are in school, are a caregiver or volunteer, or participate in other approved forms of "community engagement" — an idea that some states had broached over the past several years but that the Obama administration had consistently rebuffed.