Starting next week, Nebraskans on Medicaid will be at risk of losing their health coverage unless the state can verify that they work, volunteer, or attend school for 80 hours per month. Come January, millions of other low-income Americans will face the same cliff.
While some working-age people are exempt, including those with young children and those deemed “medically frail,” new rules about who can opt out have led to widespread confusion. For patients with complex medical conditions, the looming requirements may create another barrier to health.
Work requirements, introduced months early in Nebraska, have caused Crystal Schroer, 31, intense concern this spring. They have a litany of chronic illnesses, including depression, ADHD, and a panic disorder that became so severe during the Covid-19 pandemic, Schroer could barely go grocery shopping alone.
That changed once they got Tarot, a 50-pound Australian shepherd-border collie trained in “sensory grounding” techniques. Yet even as the dog reopened the world, Schroer struggled to find stable employment in rural Kearney, Neb.
“There’s not a lot I can apply to that I think she would be safe at,” they said.
