Staff Reports
Representative Pat Harrigan (R‑NC) has stepped up with a plain‑spoken fix to a goofy quirk in Washington rule‑making. He’s announced the “No Gambling for Medicaid Act” to stop people from using gambling winnings to satisfy the new Medicaid community engagement — a.k.a. work — requirement. It’s a simple idea: if the goal is to push people into work, don’t let a sportsbook substitute for a job.
What Harrigan’s bill would do
The bill would amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act to exclude certain gambling winnings from the monthly income test states may use to satisfy Medicaid’s community engagement requirement. The one‑pager that accompanied the announcement says “covered gambling winnings” would mean prizes or money from bets or wagers, while protecting professional gamblers who wager as a trade or business. Harrigan made his point bluntly on social media: “If Washington thinks placing bets counts as holding a job, Washington has lost its mind.” That line says everything anyone needs to know.
How the gambling loophole works
The $580 math and gross winnings
CMS’s community engagement rule lets eligible adults meet the 80‑hour monthly standard either by hours worked or by showing monthly income equal to the federal minimum wage times 80 hours — roughly $580. Under federal tax rules, gross gambling winnings count as income, and the way “gross” is counted can be gamed. Someone could place offsetting bets at different sportsbooks and show $580 in gross winnings for a month even if their net losses wiped out any real gain. In states that accept a single qualifying month for a six‑month period, that one lucky or engineered month can satisfy the requirement for half a year.
Why conservatives should back this fix
A work requirement is supposed to promote work, not invent perverse incentives to gamble. Letting gambling winnings count toward Medicaid’s income test rewards risk and clever accounting over steady employment. This is common‑sense stewardship of taxpayer dollars and of the dignity of work. Harrigan’s bill is the cheap, clean fix: exclude gross gambling winnings so the rule can’t be gamed and the program can do what it was meant to do.
Next steps and the political reality
The announcement is the start, not the finish. For the proposal to move it will need a formal bill number, committee referrals, and hearings — and CMS or Congress could act to clarify the rule. States that are preparing to implement community engagement requirements will want that clarity now, not later. If you care about protecting work requirements from absurd loopholes, this is the kind of modest, commonsense reform to support — and it’s the kind of policy where Republicans should be able to score a quick, popular win.
