Although Louisiana
imposing work-related requirements for able-bodied adults to receive
Medicaid won’t save a lot of money, neither would it have trivial positive pecuniary
benefits.
With the state kicking around ideas on how to
accomplish this, the devil is in the details. Since federal law doesn’t let the
federal government place such a stricture, states
must come up with their own regulations consistent with the law’s demand
that these improve the health and well-being of participants.
Thus, whatever states come up with, they must show
that work conveys physical or mental health benefits, which likely would
manifest only among those healthy enough to work and who do not have to care
for an infant or one in the offing, and that potential loss of Medicaid because
of inability to meet the requirement does not cause the reverse of the law’s
imperative.