The 80-Hour vs $580 Arbitrage Calculator
Under the OBBBA rules taking effect by January 1, 2027, Medicaid expansion adults must document 80 hours of monthly community engagement. Draft implementations also recognize a monthly earnings pathway — $580 equals 80 hours at the $7.25 federal minimum wage. The right strategy depends on your wage and your schedule.
Federal minimum wage: $7.25. Self-employed? Use your average hourly net earnings.
≈ 108 hours/month. The requirement is 80/month.
Pay stubs or an employer letter count.
Parents of children 13 or under, pregnant/postpartum women, people with disabilities or medical frailty, and several other federal categories are exempt. An exemption beats any hour-counting strategy — run the exemption wizard before optimizing hours.
At 25 hrs/week you average ~108 hours/month, above the 80-hour floor. You must document every month.
At $12.00/hour you need ~49 hours/month to reach $580. Your projected $1300/month clears it.
OBBBA lets hours from work, community service, job training, and education combine toward 80. Volunteering ~10 hrs/week (≈45 hrs/month) plus part-time work can close gaps that wages alone cannot.
Parents of children 13 or under, pregnant/postpartum women, people with disabilities or medical frailty, and several other federal categories are exempt. An exemption beats any hour-counting strategy — run the exemption wizard before optimizing hours.
Variable schedules can dip below 80 hours in slow months. Some states average hours over a period; until your state publishes rules, plan for the strict monthly reading.
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2026 Federal Poverty Guidelines used by this tool
| Household size | 100% FPL (annual) | 138% FPL ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,960 | $22,025 |
| 2 | $21,640 | $29,863 |
| 3 | $27,320 | $37,702 |
| 4 | $33,000 | $45,540 |
| 5 | $38,680 | $53,378 |
| 6 | $44,360 | $61,217 |
Source: 2026 HHS Poverty Guidelines — ASPE / Federal Register · effective 2026-01-15 · last verified 2026-09-28
How the two pathways interact
- Hours path: 80 hours/month of work, community service, job training, or education — activities can be combined.
- Income path: 80 hours × $7.25 federal minimum wage; several state implementations accept monthly earnings at/above this level as an alternative compliance pathway. Seasonal or irregular income? Read the $580 averaging guide.
- Exemptions first: if you qualify for a federal exemption, no hours or income proof is needed. Run the exemption wizard before optimizing either path.
- Data basis: Figures match the official HHS/ASPE 2026 Poverty Guidelines computations exactly: first person $15,960, each additional person +$5,680, four-person family $33,000 (Federal Register, 2026 annual update).
- Income limits: each state publishes several ceilings, one per coverage group, and children qualify far higher than adults. See Medicaid income limits by state.
How Many Hours a Week Is 80 Hours a Month?
Not 80 hours a week — the requirement is 80 hours per month, which works out to about 18.5 hours a week. A calendar month averages 4.33 weeks, so 18.5 hours every week adds up to exactly 80. In practice that is two 9-hour shifts a week, or one 20-hour job plus a few hours of volunteering.
| If you work this much per week | Hours in an average month | Against the 80-hour requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 8 h | 35 h | Short by 45 hours |
| 12 h | 52 h | Short by 28 hours |
| 18.5 h | 80 h | Meets it |
| 20 h | 87 h | Meets it |
| 24 h | 104 h | Meets it |
| 40 h | 173 h | Meets it |
Hours count per calendar month, not per week — so a heavy week does not carry over, and a light month can still fail even if your average looks fine. Track each month on its own, and remember the same 80 hours can be split across work, job training, education (each credit hour counts as 13 hours a month) and community service.
Check whether you are exempt before you track a single hourFrequently asked questions
Does the calculator decide whether I'm compliant?
No — it is an estimate. It compares the cost of the two paths under the federal framework (80 hours of monthly activity vs $580 in monthly income), but your state Medicaid agency makes the final compliance determination. Use the result to plan, then confirm the details in your state's published rules.
What counts toward the 80 hours?
Work, community service, job training and education — the monthly hours can be combined across activities. Half-time education counts, and full-time students are generally treated as compliant. Self-employment and gig work count as employment, but you need documentation: pay stubs, platform payout statements, or an employer letter.
Is the requirement 80 hours a week or 80 hours a month?
80 hours a month — not a week. Eighty hours a week would be two full-time jobs; the federal rule counts 80 hours of qualifying activity inside one calendar month, which is about 18.5 hours a week. Every state implementation published so far uses the monthly figure, so anything that says "80 hours a week" is describing a different program or misreading the rule.
What if I can only work 10 or 12 hours a week?
Ten hours a week is about 43 hours in an average month, so hours alone will not clear 80. Three ways people close the gap: combine activities (a part-time job plus job training, classes or volunteering all count together), use education, where each credit hour counts as 13 hours a month, or check the income pathway — earnings of $580 a month are accepted instead of hours in several state implementations. A heavy week does not carry into the next month, so plan month by month.
Where does the $580 figure come from?
$580 equals 80 hours × the $7.25 federal minimum wage. The rule ties the income threshold to the applicable minimum wage, so in states with a higher state minimum wage the monthly figure can be higher. Several state implementations accept monthly earnings at or above the threshold as an alternative to tracking hours.
What if my hours or income vary from month to month?
The federal interim final rule allows states to average income over a period of up to 12 months for people with seasonal or irregular income. If your averaged income is at least $580 a month, you can be treated as compliant even in months you earned nothing — in the states that apply averaging.
What if I qualify for an exemption?
Then neither path applies: if you qualify for a federal exemption (caregiver, pregnancy, disability, medical frailty, student and others), no hours or income proof is needed. Run the exemption self-check before optimizing either compliance path.
When does this requirement start?
The federal deadline is January 1, 2027 for every expansion state, but states can start earlier — Nebraska and Montana began enforcing in 2026, and Georgia has enforced a requirement since 2023. Check your state's start date and re-review cycle on the state timeline page.
Do I have to work 80 hours a month to get Medicaid?
Only adults who must comply — the federal rule requires 80 hours of qualifying activity per calendar month (about 18.5 hours a week). But the test does not apply to everyone: a federal exemption waives the requirement entirely, several states accept $580 a month in income instead of hours, and the requirement starts on each state's own date — the federal deadline is January 1, 2027, and some states start earlier. Use this calculator to check which path applies to you.
How do I prove my work requirements for Medicaid?
With documents that show the qualifying activity inside the month: pay stubs or an employer letter for work, a service log for community service, enrollment verification or transcripts for education, and a signed statement for volunteering. Keep a month-by-month record — the requirement counts hours within one calendar month, so a heavy week does not carry over. If your state applies the income alternative, pay stubs or bank statements showing $580 or more in monthly earnings are the simplest proof.
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Reviewed by Gavin YE, Technical Director, ClearRules Labs.
Page last reviewed 2026-09-28