Published 3:06 pm Friday, November 6, 2026

The 2025 federal budget law changed Medicaid eligibility, but implementation doesn’t start till 2027.

Four Democratic state attorneys generals are suing the Trump administration over its plan to enact work requirements for people enrolled in Medicaid beginning in 2027.

In 2025, the massive federal tax and spending law championed by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans put forth new rules requiring that Medicaid enrollees between ages 19 and 64 prove through monthly paperwork that they are employed, attending school or volunteering at least 80 hours a month.

The law has exemptions for people who are pregnant or postpartum, disabled or medically frail, parents or caretakers of children younger than 14. People with disabilities and American Indians and Alaska Natives are also exempt.

The Democratic attorneys general of Oregon, Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington filed a lawsuit Thursday afternoon in the U.S.…