Federal Medicaid officials put the coverage cost of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's work rule at 2.3 million fewer enrollees in fiscal 2027, and Eli Crane, the House member for Arizona's 2nd District, cast a July 3, 2025 yes for that law, under which the state decides, under federal standards and with data it already has, whether a disabled adult in the expansion group is exempt.
Before that, the 2025 budget resolution's February and April votes turned on Crane's yes, and it ordered no less than $880 billion from the panel that writes Medicaid law. Medicaid enrolled 19,900 people with disabilities in his district in 2025.
Eli Crane's Votes on Medicaid Work Rules and Disability Services
- 2.3 Million Projected Off Medicaid in a Year Under a Work Rule Crane Voted For, With Disabled Adults' Exemptions Left to the State. Final passage on July 3, 2025, 218 to 214, counted Eli Crane as a yes, as did the May vote that sent the House version through 215 to 214. Under the law, an adult in the covered group has to show 80 hours a month on the job, in training, in school or volunteering, and the state determines who is exempt under federal standards; the exemptions include people who are "blind or disabled (as defined in section 1614)" and anyone "with a physical, intellectual or developmental disability that significantly impairs their ability to perform 1 or more activities of daily living," among other groups. Implementing the rule, federal Medicaid officials project "enrollment would be reduced by 2.3 million individuals in FY 2027." The Commonwealth Fund expects many to be people who "will remain eligible for Medicaid but who did not successfully complete the paperwork."
- Two Deciding Budget Votes by Crane Handed Medicaid's Committee an $880 Billion Savings Goal, Leaving Disabled Arizonans' Home Care Exposed, in 2025. February 25, 2025 (217 to 215) and April 10, 2025 (216 to 214): on both, the budget resolution got Crane's yes, and on both, Crane flipping by himself would have left a tie, and a tie fails. The instruction for Energy and Commerce, home of Medicaid law, was to "reduce the deficit by not less than $880,000,000,000" over a decade. Services that let disabled people live at home instead of in an institution, known as home and community-based services, are "largely an optional Medicaid benefit," and many policy experts, the Bipartisan Policy Center reports, expect the law to "slow or reverse recent HCBS expansion efforts" in the states.
What Eli Crane's Votes Cost Arizonans With Disabilities in the 2nd District and Statewide
- 19,900 disabled residents of Crane's district get their care through Medicaid. KFF's tally for Arizona's 2nd District finds 19,900 people with disabilities in a 2025 Medicaid population of 242,900. Medicaid covers their checkups, medicines, equipment and personal care, and Arizona must keep paying for those services while drawing $34.47 billion less from Washington for Medicaid through 2034.
- 63,100 expansion adults in Crane's district will face the hours-or-exemption test. KFF counts 63,100 Medicaid expansion adults in Arizona's 2nd District in 2025, the group the work rule reaches; and from no later than January 1, 2027, any of them the state does not find exempt will have to document 80 hours a month or risk being dropped over paperwork.
- Home care for disabled Arizonans is optional for the state, which leaves it more exposed to cuts. Because in-home and community services are optional for states, they are more vulnerable when budgets tighten, and the law tightens Arizona's: KFF puts the state's loss at 18% of the federal Medicaid funding it was projected to receive over ten years.
Frequently Asked Questions About Eli Crane on Disability rights
What is Eli Crane's record on disability rights under Trump?
Eli Crane's July 2025 vote for H.R. 1 put into law a Medicaid work rule for the expansion group, with the state deciding which disabled adults in it are exempt, and his yes was the margin on the 2025 budget resolution in February and again in April, the plan that demanded at least $880 billion from the Medicaid committee. In his district, KFF counts 19,900 Medicaid enrollees with disabilities.
Are disabled Arizonans exempt from the Medicaid work requirement Eli Crane voted for?
Many are, but the state decides who qualifies under the law Eli Crane voted for. Its exemptions, set by the state under federal standards, cover expansion adults who are medically frail, including people who are blind or disabled, have a disability that significantly limits daily activities or have a serious or complex medical condition, and adults with no exemption must report 80 hours a month. The Commonwealth Fund expects many who lose coverage to still qualify.
What does Eli Crane's vote cost Medicaid enrollees with disabilities in Arizona's 2nd District?
Eli Crane's yes on the final law leaves Arizona $34.47 billion short in federal Medicaid money over ten years, KFF estimates, and that program covers 19,900 disabled residents of Arizona's 2nd District, whose in-home help is optional for states and so vulnerable in a budget squeeze.
Last updated: 2026-10-27