Work requirements tied to public benefits have become a central policy theme in the Trump administration’s 2025 push to tighten eligibility rules for food aid, health coverage and subsidized housing, according to reporting that examined how the policies could play out for recipients. The approach is aimed at making assistance contingent on participation in work, with the administration and some supporters arguing the change helps families and strengthens the labor market.
In the administration’s framing, requiring work is meant to discourage what it sees as long-term dependence and to promote self-sufficiency and broader economic gains. The reporting also noted that economists have raised skepticism about whether work mandates produce those promised employment results, and they have warned about potential downsides including fewer people staying employed, heavy administrative burdens, and political resistance.
SNAP: Expanded work rules and narrower exemptions
For the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the July changes expanded work requirements for certain SNAP recipients who are able-bodied adults without dependents, according to the reporting. The prior structure had exempted adults older than 54 and parents with children younger than 18 from SNAP’s 80-hours-per-month work requirement, but the expanded law would reduce those exemptions for additional groups.
Under the new approach described in the reporting, adults up to age 64 would face the work requirement if they receive SNAP for more than three months. Parents with children ages 14 to 17 would also have to prove they are working, volunteering or participating in job training, the reporting said.
The reporting further said the new law also cut exemptions for groups including people who are homeless, veterans and young people who have aged out of foster care. It also described restrictions on waivers for states and regions based on local unemployment rates.
Economists and policy analysts pointed to how the SNAP recipient population may already be working in unstable, low-wage jobs. Pew Research Center data cited in the reporting, using 2023 Census survey figures, found that 61% of adult SNAP recipients had not been employed that year. Pew also reported an average SNAP benefit as of May 2025 of $188.45 per person or $350.89 per household.
Ismael Cid Martinez, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said the people who qualify for SNAP are likely working in low-wage jobs that are less stable and therefore more vulnerable when the broader economy weakens. He argued that when weak economic conditions reduce hours and eliminate jobs for low-wage workers, that increases their need for government support—and that restricting benefits could make it harder for them to return to work. “These are some of the matters that tie in together to explain the economy and (how) the labor market is connected to these benefits,” Martinez said. “None of us really show up into an economy on our own.”
Medicaid: 2027 work requirement tied to 80 hours and exemptions
The reporting said the administration’s broader “big bill” over the summer also created new requirements for Medicaid, with changes starting in 2027. The plan would require low-income adults ages 19 to 64 enrolled through Medicaid expansion or through a waiver program to complete 80 hours of work, job training, education or volunteering per month to remain eligible.
The reporting said several exemptions would apply, including for caregivers, people with disabilities, people who have recently left prison or jail, and people who are pregnant or postpartum. It also highlighted the exemptions as part of a framework meant to distinguish who would be considered “work-eligible” for purposes of the mandate.
The Congressional Budget Office was cited in the reporting for a prediction that millions of people would lose health care because of the requirements. The reporting also included the view of a panel of experts affiliated with the Cornell Health Policy Center, which said most people on Medicaid already work and that the national requirements would not lead to large increases in employment rates among working adults on Medicaid. It added that working people could lose coverage because of administrative difficulties proving they work.
As an example of how such policies operate in practice, the reporting pointed to Georgia as the only state with a Medicaid work requirement program currently in place. It described Georgia’s program, called Georgia Pathways, as having drawn criticism for enrolling far fewer people than expected and for creating large administrative costs.
Critics cited in the reporting said many working people struggle to enroll and to log their hours online, with some losing coverage at times due to administrative errors. The reporting also referenced research released recently by the United Kingdom-based group BMJ that compared Georgia Pathways with other states that did not expand Medicaid. It said the BMJ comparison found Georgia’s program did not increase employment during the first 15 months and did not improve access to Medicaid.
The reporting said Gov. Brian Kemp’s office attributed the large administrative costs and startup delays to delays caused by legal battles with former President Joe Biden’s administration. A spokesperson said 19,383 Georgians had received coverage since Georgia Pathways began.
HUD: A proposed rule to let housing authorities require work
The reporting said the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed a separate rule change in July that would allow public housing authorities to institute work requirements and time limits for residents receiving rental assistance. The proposal would be permissive rather than automatic, with housing authorities able to opt in, according to the description.
A leaked draft described in the reporting said HUD would lay out how housing authorities could choose to implement work requirements of up to 40 hours a week for people receiving rental assistance, including adult tenants in public housing and Section 8 voucher holders. The reporting said HUD also identified Arkansas and Wisconsin as states where the proposal could trigger implementation based on existing state laws if and when HUD’s rule is approved.
The reporting said the proposal remained in regulatory review and would include a public comment period. It also said HUD spokesman Matthew Maley declined to comment on the leaked documents, which the reporting said broadly define the age of work-eligible people as up to age 61 and include exemptions for people with disabilities and for those who are in school or are pregnant. The reporting said primary caregivers of disabled people and children under 6 years old would also be exempt.
The reporting described HUD’s rule language as setting upper limits but leaving flexibility for local agencies to define their own programs with additional exemptions. It also included research findings cited from New York University that reviewed work requirements tested by housing authorities over time, concluding there were few successful examples—highlighting only one case, in Charlotte, North Carolina, where there were modest increases in employment compared to other regions where work requirements were changed or discontinued because they were considered punitive or hard to administer.