Debt ceiling negotiations threaten healthcare and welfare programs.

Republicans and Democrats are at a stalemate over a GOP proposal to tie eligibility for Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance program for low-income and disabled adults, to a certain number of hours worked each month. Under the Republican plan, Medicaid recipients would have to document 80 hours a month of work, which at the federal minimum wage would amount to a minimum of $580 a month in income, or log hours doing community service or participating in a work training program. The work requirement would apply to about 15 million of the 86 million people receiving Medicaid coverage who would either have to meet the mandated hours or apply for an exemption.