Ohio Medicaid Work Requirements

80 hours per month of work or qualifying activity — employment, education, job training or community service. The rules also recognize an income alternative: earnings of at least $580 a month (80 hours at the $7.25 federal minimum wage) can satisfy the requirement through income instead of hour tracking, and seasonal or irregular earnings may be averaged.

The 80 hours do not have to come from one paid job. Ohio counts employment, education, job training and community service (pending state definition), and activities can be combined to reach the monthly total — so a training course or a part-time education program can satisfy the requirement on its own, or make up the gap left by work.

Federal law exempts parents and caretakers of children under 14, pregnant and postpartum women, people receiving disability benefits, the medically frail, students enrolled at least half-time, former foster youth up to 26, and people already meeting TANF or SNAP work rules. Federal OBBBA exemption categories control the floor. Ohio's 2018 waiver draft included exemptions for caregivers, students, and people in substance-use treatment — a plausible template for the 2027 state plan.

Under the 2027 rules, Ohio reviews eligibility at least every 6 months instead of every 12 — which makes keeping monthly proof of work, activity or exemption status more important. Our 6-month renewal reminder (calendar feed) tracks the federal redetermination cycles.

Adults covered through Ohio Medicaid (Group VIII expansion) qualify with household income up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Children, pregnant women, parents and people with disabilities have separate limits. Our dedicated Ohio Medicaid income limits page carries the full 2026 table with monthly dollars for every household size and program, and Ohio Department of Medicaid publishes the official charts and makes the final determination.

Full 2026 Ohio Medicaid income limits chart by family size →

Losing Medicaid triggers a 60-day special enrollment period for ACA marketplace coverage, and children may qualify for CHIP even when adults do not. Our coverage alternatives guide ranks the realistic fallbacks — marketplace subsidies, employer coverage, CHIP and community health centers — by cost.

Group VIII — written Group 8 in plain numbers — is the statutory name for Ohio's ACA expansion category — section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(VIII) of the Social Security Act. It covers adults 19–64 who qualify on income alone, up to 138% FPL, and who are not eligible through another category such as disability, pregnancy or as a parent or caretaker relative. Roughly three-quarters of a million Ohioans are in it, and it is the group every work-requirement proposal targets.

No. Ohio's own Group VIII waiver comes from Ohio Revised Code section 5166.37 (added by House Bill 33, effective October 3, 2023) and is a pre-enrollment condition rather than an hours-reporting rule: an applicant must satisfy at least one of five criteria — be at least 55 years old, be employed, be enrolled in school or an occupational training program, be in alcohol or drug addiction treatment, or have intensive physical health care needs or serious mental illness. The 80-hours-a-month requirement is the separate federal OBBBA rule for people already enrolled, and it starts January 1, 2027.

No. As of September 2026 the Ohio Department of Medicaid's Group VIII page states that changes impacting Group VIII eligibility are not currently in effect, so nothing about Group VIII eligibility has changed. The Ohio Department of Medicaid takes questions about the demonstration at GroupVIII@medicaid.ohio.gov.

No — SNAP and Medicaid are separate programs with separate work rules. Being exempt from SNAP work requirements does not automatically exempt you from the Medicaid requirement, although most federal Medicaid exemption categories overlap with SNAP's (caring for a child under 14, disability, pregnancy). Check the Medicaid exemption categories specifically — the exemption self-check on this site walks through them.

The 138% FPL ceiling in the table above applies to the Group VIII expansion category, which covers adults under 65. Ohioans 65 or older are generally evaluated under different categories — aged, blind or disabled — with their own income and asset rules set by the Ohio Department of Medicaid. If you are 65 or older, check the Ohio Department of Medicaid's eligibility page rather than the expansion table.

Group VIII is Ohio's Medicaid expansion category — members get the standard Ohio Medicaid benefit package through the state's managed-care plans (doctor visits, hospital care, prescriptions, behavioral health and preventive care), not a limited plan. The Group VIII waiver mainly defines who qualifies (adults up to 138% FPL) and the reporting rules, not the benefits.