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LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Able-bodied Medicaid recipients in Michigan may soon have to choose between finding a job or losing health insurance.
The ultimatum comes in the form of a bill the GOP-controlled Senate approved Thursday in a 26-11 vote. After their amendments were shot down, Democrats took the floor to blast the bill for what they said was punishing the poor.
Now headed to the House, the legislation would strip the public benefit from able-bodied adults unable to find an average of 29 hours of work per week by Oct. 1, 2019.
Exemptions include pregnant woman, people receiving unemployment or disability benefits, caretakers for children under 6 and full-time students.
In January, the Trump administration gave states the green light to hold Medicaid recipients to a work requirement.