AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
A Tale of Two States: Reconciling Medicaid Work Requirement Enrollment Impacts in Georgia and Arkansas
AEA Papers and Proceedings
(pp. 326–330)
Abstract
Medicaid work requirements have reemerged as a major federal policy, yet evidence on their enrollment effects is sparse. We reconcile sharply different outcomes from the only two states that implemented Medicaid work requirements: Arkansas, which reported high compliance, and Georgia, where enrollment has remained extremely low. We distinguish theoretical eligibility from observed enrollment and show that administrative reporting design is a first-order determinant of enrollment under Medicaid work requirements. Using monthly Medicaid enrollment data from Arkansas, we document a strong relationship between manual reporting and noncompliance and show that Georgia’s fully manual system yields enrollment consistent with this mechanism.Citation
Henderson, Morgan, Laura Spicer, and Alice Middleton. 2026. "A Tale of Two States: Reconciling Medicaid Work Requirement Enrollment Impacts in Georgia and Arkansas." AEA Papers and Proceedings 116: 326–330. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20261089Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs