Oh, the humanity!

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New work requirements could end Medicaid for 1/3 of current welfare recipients in CT.

Starting this January, 2027, those collecting welfare from their working neighbors will have to spend 80 hours a month either:

  • working

  • Participating in job training

  • volunteering, and/or

  • Enrolling in and attending higher education, technical school or a high school equivalency program.

Twenty hours a week devoted to any combination of those activities unless the welfare recipient:

  • suffers from blindness, other disabilities,

  • is enjoying a “chronic substance use disorder” (alcocholics and junkies, you can relax),

  • is nuts

  • Has cancer or HIV or any number of other debilitating illnesses

Connecticut Department of Social Services estimates that one-third of the 316,000 recipients of HUSKY D could be forced to get out of their houses and do something useful either for themselves or others; that’s a lot of deadbeats who are going to suffer such an indignity, so it’s no wonder Connecticut has joined with 24 other Democrat-led states to block the changes.

I’m so old, I remember when Bill Clinton and his Democrats enacted the same workfare requirements, only harsher:


AI Overview

President Bill Clinton reformed welfare through the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996. The legislation replaced the open-ended entitlement program with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, mandating that recipients engage in work activities within two years of receiving benefits or face termination of assistance.

Key federal workfare requirements of the law include:

  • Time Limits: A lifetime limit of 60 months (5 years) for federal welfare assistance.

  • Work Hours: Able-bodied adults are typically required to participate in work or work-related activities for at least 30 hours per week. [Trump wants 20 — Ed]

  • State Flexibility & Sanctions: States design their own specific workfare programs but must meet strict federal participation rates. If states fail to move a required percentage of their caseloads into the workforce, their federal funding is reduced.

    Food Stamp Limits: For childless, able-bodied adults, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are generally limited to three months in a 36-month period unless the individual is working or participating in a workfare program.