Cancer patients on Medicaid must now prove their illness is severe enough to prevent them from working or risk losing the health coverage that funds their treatment.
On 1 June 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an interim final rule implementing the Medicaid work requirements written into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July 2025. Under the rule, most non-exempt adults aged 19 to 64 enrolled in Medicaid must complete at least 80 hours per month of work, education, community service or job training to keep their coverage.
