Thread by @AnnaKrukCorbin

Great reporting by @Rewire_News.
I have spoken at length about work requirements, and this is why.

What is happening in Arkansas is infuriating.

There's a lot to unpack here, and I know threads can be tedious, but please stay with me. 1/

https://twitter.com/Rewire_News/status/1040072072851058688

I live in rural PA, where progressives can be pretty moderate. Last spring, a member of our local progressive group's Facebook page commented, "What's the big deal? If they're able bodied, shouldn't they work?" The comment got "likes," so I asked to speak at the next meeting. 2/

I explained to the group that the goal of #workrequirements was not to get people to work, but to kick ppl off #Medicaid. I stressed that the bureaucracy surrounding work requirements targets those who work. After the meeting, so many said, "I hadn't thought of it that way." 3/

Just as we warned, Arkansas has kicked 4,574 people off of Medicaid until JANUARY, for failing to meet the deadline. 12 of 18 Medicaid recipients interviewed didn't *know* about the work requirements. 230,000 Arkansas residents don't even have access to an internet provider. 4/

78% of Arkansas Medicaid enrollees have one of the following:
- no access to a vehicle
- no access to internet service
- serious health limitation
- household member with a serious health limitation

How could they possibly meet these deadlines? 5/

This is an outright #waronthepoor. Medicaid recipients in Arkansas were set up to fail. 4,574 people were set up to lose their health care, and more will follow. What will become of them and their children if they don't receive the care they need? 6/

Arkansas is not the only state to do this, and Medicaid is not the only program affected. SNAP is being targeted as well. We must fight back & tell our government to say NO to #Medicaid work requirements & #HandsOffSNAP.
The lives of families across the country depend on it. 7/x