Medicaid work requirement ignores hard realities | Letter

As a nurse practitioner in Southern Maine, I have never met a patient who was not deserving of healthcare. That is why I am strongly opposed to the Medicaid work requirements that will be implemented on Jan. 1, 2027.

This newspaper reported on May 5 that Medicaid will require 90,000 working-age Mainers to work, attend school or volunteer 80 hours per month to remain Medicaid eligible. An estimated 31,000 Mainers stand to lose access to healthcare under these terms.

At first glance, the new work requirements may seem intended to uplift poor Mainers by encouraging self-sufficiency. But for my patients who are unable to work, losing Medicaid access will not suddenly make them able to work a job — nor will it mean that they will stop getting sick.

One patient is struggling with mental illness, a condition that currently prevents her from holding a steady job. Her illness is complicated by lack of transportation, recently slashed nutrition benefits and the chronic stress of housing instability. If she loses Medicaid, she’ll lose access to her care team. Continuing to receive treatment, though, could allow her to eventually manage her condition and be able to work again.

The Medicaid work requirement will make hard times harder for us, our friends, neighbors and loved ones. I dream of a society where the healthy and well are free to care for the sick, knowing that at times we will all be both.

Molly Lobel
Family nurse practitioner
Westbrook

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