The Health Center Association of Nebraska usually enrolls about 15 people each month in Medicaid.
In May, after Nebraska became the first state to enact President Donald Trump's stricter work requirements, the organization enrolled none.
WATCH: Who will be affected by Trump administration's Medicaid, SNAP work requirements
That drop-off in new Medicaid enrollees is unheard of for the organization, said CEO Amy Behnke, whose nonprofit supports and advocates for the state's community health centers. She believes people aren't coming in because they assume, with these new work requirements, they're not eligible for Medicaid or "they think it's going to be too overwhelming or cumbersome to try to keep coverage."
Trump's big tax and funding bill, or "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," signed into law last summer, established "community engagement requirements" for people with low incomes or disabilities who receive health insurance through Medicaid. The federally mandated requirements won't affect all Medicaid recipients, but millions of enrollees in 43 states, including Washington, D.C., must now prove they're working, volunteering or going to school for at least 80 hours a month or risk losing their benefits at the start of 2027. Nearly all of these states expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Experts told PBS News they worry the new requirements could result in hundreds of thousands of otherwise eligible enrollees losing health coverage.
