A Peloton perched in the living room. A set of weights on the bedroom floor. Some wellness products have a way of making their presence known. But even the smaller things—think daily supplements, mushroom tinctures, herbal teas—can slowly start to sprawl out everywhere. With the rise and awareness of holistic health habits, wellness routines that rival your skincare shelf, and obsessions like ProteinTok—a whole corner of the internet dedicated to everything protein—you might find that wellness has taken over your kitchen. Suddenly, your blender is battling for space with the hydration powders, collagen tubs, and stacks of snack bars. If you don’t have a place to properly store it all, your kitchen can start to be more overwhelming than calming. But with thoughtful design, proper planning, and smart storage solutions, you can integrate it all into your home in a way that feels serene and seamless. We asked designers and wellness experts how they manage their ever-expanding collection of products and design their kitchens with well-being in mind.Consider An Appliance GarageTessa NeustadtGreen cabinet doors conceal the appliances in this kitchen by Interior Archaeology.“For things that need to be in reach and on the counter, we put everything in an appliance garage,” shares Lynn Kloythanomsup of Landed Interiors and Homes. By that she means is a built-in cabinet or nook—typically integrated into the cabinetry—that features a door that lifts, rolls, or swings open and shut to conceal bulky appliances. Designer Hollie Velten of Spaces by Hollie Velten is also a fan of this feature and notices more clients requesting it. “A custom appliance garage allows things like tea supplies to be accessible for entertaining but hidden for everyday use.”It’s not just designers who advocate for this intentional placement—wellness experts themselves are just as mindful of it. “Our juicer must be on the countertop to make juicing as effortless as possible but other appliances are fine tucked away,” says health coach and nutritionist Daphne Javtich of Doing Well. Kerrilynn Pamer of Cap Beauty echoes this: “I keep my juicer on the counter, I have a Nama, and it’s pretty discreet even though it's large. Everything else, I keep behind doors.”Think Beyond The Main KitchenStacy Zarin GoldbergThis auxiliary kitchen by Kate Abt Design makes a perfect spot for wellness essentials.One luxury feature on the rise? Auxiliary kitchens, also known as dirty kitchens. “When designing for clients, we almost always have the ‘family’ or ‘show’ kitchen and then a second kitchen where the real cooking happens,” says Eric Egan of Eric Egan Interior Design. “This is much like in a restaurant show kitchen, where you see them finishing the meals, but you don't see the prep work or the clean up, all of which happens in the background.” Designer Sarah Barnard of Sarah Barnard Design has also seen an increase in the request of auxiliary kitchens and loves them because they “provide concealed storage for juicers, blenders, dehydrators, and food processors.” While two kitchens might not be realistic for everyone, if you have access to a nice-sized pantry or closet nearby, that’s an ideal spot to corral it all, as well. Rethink Unused SpacesKEVIN MIYAZAKIRemove the booze, bring in the blender, and this liquor cabinet, in a library designed by Kate Marker, could be a wellness station.Speaking of ideal spots for wellness, consider transforming underutilized spaces like liquor cabinets or part of a mudroom into a wellness hub. “We don't find that too many of our clients have a liquor cabinet or use a bar anymore,” shares Kloythanomsup. “So that area can be repurposed as a wellness area.” While you're repurposing it, consider where you can plug in all those wellness appliances. “Clients are also asking us to design technology-stations, so they have multiple areas to hide their technology and free their view of cords and distractions,” Velten says. Get In The ZoneEmma Farrer//Getty ImagesA dedicated tea zone.If you are going to dedicate counter space to your wellness routine, whether it’s a juicing zone, smoothie station, a hydration corner—keep things arranged in groups or zones. “I keep the bulk of my supplements and remedies in a large, shallow pullout drawer in the kitchen,” Javitch shares. “I find this is the easiest way to organize and find products quickly. And you don't have to remove some to get to others.”“I love setting up thoughtful, dedicated zones, like a wellness drawer with teas, vitamins, and tinctures all in one place, or a water station with a glass water pitcher, reusable bottles, and electrolytes,” shares Blakey. Keeping similar items together allows products to stay top of mind and prevents them from getting lost in the shuffle. Contain YourselfCourtesy Holly BlakeyA pantry organized by Holly Blakey of Breathing Room Home.While baskets are a no-brainer for kitchen organization, designers and experts say that’s for good reason, advising homeowners not to overlook them—and to keep the materials as natural as possible. “Wooden bins are another favorite way to add warmth and style while keeping items grouped,” Blakey says. Velten seconds the idea of rush baskets or wooden bins, “We try to push living finishes as much as we can because with proper care, material that came from the earth just vibrates differently.” No matter how many products you use or how dialed-in your routine may be, “wellness becomes part of the daily flow when your space helps you follow through on your intentions,” says Blakey. For that reason, says Javitch, “I always keep a few small baskets in our cabinets with products I often grab for like the kids' sunblock stick or their multivitamin gummies.”Show Off Your Stash Thomas LeonczikHollie Velten designed this kitchen to keep essentials on view. The alternative to hiding things away? Showing them off! “We worked with a client who described her kitchen goals as ‘California health kitchen,’” shares Velten. “We actually removed the upper cabinets to create an easy-to-access corner of shelving to hold glass jars and sustainable practices for her teas, herbs, spices, tinctures, and other food prep essentials.” After all, some items deserve to be seen—not only from an aesthetic perspective but also to prompt daily use and consistency. “I’ll usually keep my essential daily products on a pretty wood tray on the kitchen counter,” Javtich shares.If you are going to keep things out in the open, Bay Area-based organizer of Breathing Room Home Holly Blakey, says clarity is key. “I swear by glass containers for food storage, not just for sustainability, but because they help you know what you have and when you can clearly see your items, you’re more likely to use them before they expire.”Plus, this keep-it-all-out method a way to incorporate your personal preferences and add a little personality into your kitchen. “Sometimes well-kept essentials really only bring more joy and utility when out in the open,” Velten adds. 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iOS 19—or is it iOS 26, as rumors suggest?—is nearly here. Apple will almost assuredly announce the latest version of the iPhone's OS next week at WWDC 2025. As such, rumors about iOS 26's features have been coming in fast, and only more so as we approach the big event. Although none of these rumors can be confirmed at the moment, they still give us a good idea about what Apple might be considering behind the scenes.Is Apple changing iOS' name?Seems that way. While we (logically) thought the next version of iOS would be called iOS 19, Apple reportedly has other plans in place. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, iOS 19 will be iOS 26, taking the name of the following year. Apple is reportedly doing this with all of its OS titles, including iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, and visionOS 26. A fresh look for iOS 26While iOS has changed considerably in recent years, the overall design language still follows the last big UI overhaul: 2013's iOS 7. It's been nearly 12 years since Apple has mixed things up, leaving users to design their own Lock Screens and app icons. According to Gurman, however, that might change with iOS 26, as well as iPadOS 26 and macOS 26. The details are scarce, but Gurman reports sources within Apple say the company wants to better align the design languages across its various products, without merging those OSes entirely, while also simplifying the way you interact with these devices. That means iOS 26 could adopt the design of visionOS, which uses circles instead of squares for app icons, translucent window elements, and the adoption of 3D—though that latter element may be difficult to translate on a 2D display.You can see those elements on display in this concept video from Jon Prosser. If the rumors are correct, we could be looking at "one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history." In addition to a new look, iOS may be getting a little less buggy. Gurman says that stability is a big priority for Apple this year, which is music to my ears.Live translation for AirPodsGurman also says that Apple is working on a live translation feature for certain AirPods models. If you're having a conversation with someone who is speaking a language you don't know, your AirPods will translate and dictate those words in your target language automatically. When you speak, your words will be translated and dictated by your iPhone, via the Translate app. This feature isn't groundbreaking—Google's Pixel Buds have offered it for years. But it'd be a great addition to iOS 26, and to AirPods users. Accessibility featuresApple doesn't reveal much about its upcoming updates before officially announcing them, but accessibility features are an exception. Last month, the company unveiled a list of accessibility features coming to devices "later this year." While they don't name iOS 26 and other "26" updates, it's pretty obvious those are the updates we'll see them in. There's a new Accessibility Reader feature that makes text easier to read across iOS; Magnifier is coming to Mac; you'll see "Accessibility nutrition" labels on the App Store, to denote how accessible an app is; Apple Watch is getting Live Captions, and Vehicle Motion Cues are coming to the Mac. 'Desktop' modeRumor has it that Apple is working on a "Stage Manager-like" desktop mode for USB-C iPhones with iOS 26. The feature would let you plug your iPhone into an external monitor, so you can extend your iPhone's screen to the larger display.This might not be a true "desktop mode" experience, like Samsung DeX, in that you might not be able to use your iPhone as a portable computer this way. But it could make it easier to share your iPhone's display when you want to connect to a larger screen. You only need to sign into public wifi networks onceIf you use multiple devices on public wifi networks, it's a pain to connect each one manually. That might be changing with Apple's upcoming updates: Gurman says that once updated, you'll only need to log into the wifi with one Apple device (your iPhone, iPad, or Mac) and the rest will automatically connect.Battery upgradesHere's a great use for AI: optimizing battery life. Rumor has it iOS 26 will analyze your usage habits and determine the right times to lower performance in the name of preserving battery life. Extending the amount of time between charges is something we can all get behind. In addition, the company may add a charging indicator to the lock screen, so you know how long your battery has left to charge. This small feature has been sorely missing on iPhones for years. Apple offers it on MacBooks, but only in Activity Monitor. I hope its brings it back to the menu bar in a future update. Your iPhone will (probably) run iOS 26With any luck, your current iPhone should be compatible with iOS 26, assuming you're currently running the latest software. Citing a source within Apple, French website iPhoneSoft.fr reports that any phone that runs iOS 18 should be compatible with iOS 26 as well. However, the iPad 7 will supposedly not be so lucky, as the website says it will not be included in the iPadOS 26 update.However, a MacRumors source says that Apple plans to drop the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max this year. We'll have to wait and see what Apple announces on Monday to find out which phones will still be supported.A new gaming appAccording to Gurman, Apple is working on a dedicated gaming app for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and tvOS, meant to replace the existing Game Center. The app will both let you launch titles, as well as check leader boards, chat with friends, and see your achievements. If true, it'll be interesting timing, considering the announcement will come four days after the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. I have my doubts that such an app could compete with a gaming titan like Nintendo, or that this will really expand beyond the traditional short and sweet mobile game experience, but who knows. Maybe Apple is about to become a serious gaming company. (I doubt it.)Shortcuts get Apple Intelligence integrationThe Shortcuts app lets you set up "shortcuts," which you can use to automate tasks across your Apple devices. Gurman says with iOS 26, Apple is integrating Apple Intelligence into the Shortcuts app, which might let you create shortcuts with natural language—or, in other words, describe the shortcuts you want and have the AI build them for you. Small updatesAccording to 9to5Mac, Apple has plans to add a new feature or two to a handful of apps. That includes:Messages: Automatic translation for incoming and outgoing messages, as well as polls.Music: Full-screen animated artwork on the lock screenNotes: Markdown support, a huge plus for pro-notes usersCarPlay: A redesigned UI to compliment iOS 26The merging of Siri and Apple IntelligenceAccording to Gurman, Apple plans to merge Siri with Apple Intelligence sometime during the iOS 26 patch cycle. Yes, the assistant is currently listed as being part of Apple Intelligence, but behind the scenes, it supposedly has a new LLM in the works that would unify its currently split architecture and allow it to more frequently handle complex requests. As of now, its AI features are much more limited, and most of Siri doesn't use this type of AI at all.Gurman says he expects the merger to be completed by spring of 2026 with the launch of iOS 26.4. His report states that, originally, Apple's plan was to launch a more conversational Siri in the same update, but that's been delayed and is not expected to be unveiled at WWDC 2025.Gurman also indicates that because Apple has not yet completed last year's Apple Intelligence feature rollout, any unannounced features shouldn't be expected for a while.

New research hasn't found any connection between taurine levels in the blood and our age.

Burn your way to weight loss. An expert told us how many calories you should aim for.

Nature, Published online: 03 June 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01729-1Trade wars could affect food security in low-income nations

One serving has more than 30 grams of protein and it tastes like vanilla frosting.

If you’ve ever wondered whether the food on your plate could shape your brain’s future, the science is starting to say: yes, it might. While healthy eating has long been linked to better brain health, new research is getting more specific about which diets help, and when you should start following them.At this year’s annual Nutrition conference in Orlando, Florida, researchers presented findings that add weight to the growing link between diet and dementia. According to a news release, study author Song-Yi Park of the University of Hawaii at Manoa said, “Our study findings confirm that healthy dietary patterns in mid to late life and their improvement over time may prevent Alzheimer’s and related dementias. This suggests that it is never too late to adopt a healthy diet to prevent dementia.”The research focused on nearly 93,000 U.S. adults from the long-running Multiethnic Cohort Study. Participants were between 45 years and 75 years old when they entered the study in the 1990s. Over time, more than 21,000 developed Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias — but those who closely followed a specific eating plan, the MIND diet, were significantly less likely to be among them.Combining the Mediterranean Diet and DASH DietThe MIND diet (short for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) blends the best elements of two established eating plans: the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet.The Mediterranean diet is inspired by the traditional cuisines of countries like Greece, Italy, and Spain. It focuses on plant-based foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains), healthy fats like olive oil, and moderate amounts of fish, poultry, and dairy, with red meat eaten sparingly. It’s been linked to a lower risk of heart disease and is also environmentally friendly.The DASH diet, originally designed to lower blood pressure, shares many similarities but puts extra emphasis on limiting sodium and increasing intake of nutrients like potassium, magnesium, and calcium. It includes low-fat dairy and lean protein sources and doesn’t rely on any hard-to-find foods.The MIND diet specifically promotes brain-healthy foods like leafy greens, berries, nuts, and olive oil, combining benefits of both approaches with a focus on protecting cognitive health.Read More: Is the Mediterranean Diet Healthy?The MIND Diet Over TimeAccording to Park and her team, people who scored highest in MIND diet adherence at the study’s start had a 9 percent lower risk of developing dementia. That number was even higher with around 13 percent for African American, Latino, and White participants. Looking at those who improved their adherence to the MIND diet over time, showed a 25 percent reduction in dementia risk compared to those whose dietary habits declined, which was consistent no matter the age or racial background.“We found that the protective relationship between a healthy diet and dementia was more pronounced among African Americans, Latinos, and Whites, while it was not as apparent among Asian Americans and showed a weaker trend in Native Hawaiians,” Park said in the press release. “A tailored approach may be needed when evaluating different subpopulations’ diet quality.”Interestingly, Asian Americans also tend to have lower dementia rates overall, which researchers believe could mean other cultural eating patterns might offer similar protection than the MIND diet for that group.The Best Time to Start Is NowOne of the most encouraging findings was that starting late still helped. Participants who began following the MIND diet more closely over a 10-year period, regardless of how old they were when they began, saw benefits. This suggests that even if you didn’t grow up eating brain-boosting foods, it’s not too late to change course.It’s worth noting that the study is observational, so, by itself, it can’t prove this specific diet causes better brain health. Study author Park notes that the next step is conducting interventional studies to verify these promising results.Still, the evidence is mounting. Whether you're 45 or 75, choosing greens over greasy snacks could make a real difference when it comes to aging with or without dementia.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:National Institute of Aging. What Do We Know About Diet and Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease?Harvard Health Publishing. A practical guide to the Mediterranean dietNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Following the DASH Eating PlanHaving worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts – ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition – into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When she’s not immersed in a popular science book, you’ll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.

Being "healthy" doesn't mean you have to spend extra on organic superfoods and expensive supplements. In fact, these common foods are healthier than you think.

News Sapphire 2025: BASF evolves business with move to SAP S/4Hana Germany-based global chemical giant BASF has elected to move its SAP IT estate to S/4Hana private cloud to evolve its business in uncertain times By Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor Published: 29 May 2025 15:30 Chemical industry giant BASF is moving its SAP IT estate to the supplier’s S/4Hana enterprise resource planning (ERP) system as part of a business modernisation strategy, it was announced at the SAP Sapphire user and partner conference in Madrid. Petra Scheithe, senior vice-president of digitalization of services and ERP platforms at BASF Business Services, outlined the latest development in the company’s long-standing relationship with SAP. BASF, which employs around 112,000 people, has been an SAP customer for 40 years. Its headquarters in Ludwigshafen are a half-hour drive from SAP’s in Walldorf. According to a joint SAP/BASF statement, the chemical firm “adopted a hybrid system landscape to integrate SAP S/4Hana Cloud into BASF’s vast system and reduce the complexity of on-premise management. With a clean core strategy in place, any new customisations and functional extensions will be cloud-ready, allowing simplified system maintenance and operations in the long run.” BASF also intends to use SAP’s artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability software.   The first of its new systems on S/4Hana, in its coatings business, is already live. BASF has four “core businesses”, in chemicals, materials, industrial solutions, and nutrition and care, and four standalone business units in agriculture and surface technologies, catalysts and metals, battery materials, and coatings. BASF is also using SAP’s Joule copilot for initial use cases in SAP’s SuccessFactors HR system, and is looking at other cases for core business processes. “We signed a new strategic partnership with SAP in December 2024,” said Scheithe, in an interview at Sapphire. “This includes Rise [with SAP], which we did not have before.” Rise is a so-called business transformation as a service programme that is fundamentally about cloud migration, and getting customers, new and existing, onto a cloud-delivered version of its S/4Hana ERP system based on its in-memory database, Hana. BASF’s existing SAP estate is one single global instance. “That has brought some challenges with it because over the last decade, we have really grown that system to a point where we said ‘this is difficult to manage’,” said Scheithe. “We have a very broad product portfolio, from our agricultural business, our coatings business, catalysts, battery materials, and copper and metals,” she said. “Combining all of those requirements in one SAP system led to the point that we have more than 300,000 custom objects in the system, so it’s huge and monolithic. The transition to S/4Hana is a chance to clear that up.” The idea is to back up the BASF strategy, called Winning Ways, with a modernised ERP system. The overall corporate strategy has the goal of BASF being “the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation”. It includes a €10bn investment in what the company calls a Verbund site in Zhanjiang in China. At these sites, production plants, energy and material flows, logistics, and site infrastructure are all integrated, according to the company. There are currently six worldwide. In relation to the SAP environment, Scheithe said they decided to split the one instance into several business-related ones. The new company strategy, minted in 2024, means there is a pillar dedicated to “differentiated steering with different market requirements”, she added. Read more about SAP customers Rise with SAP offers a path to the cloud for SAP customers, but adoption is still hindered by customer concerns over costs, flexibility and SAP's cloud-only innovation strategy. SAP sales tactic fuels IT disconnect. SAP customer unrest: How did we get here? BASF started to build an S/4Hana instance in 2022 for the coatings business, with “a greenfield approach using clean core strategy”. This went live in March of this year, “on time and on budget, which I am super proud of”, said Scheithe. The firm is now implementing S/4 for the battery materials division and piloting for the agricultural business. “Clean core” in an SAP context means keeping the core system as standard as possible, with minimal custom modifications.  They also opted for SAP’s Rise programme so that their systems are as close as possible to standard SAP and to leverage the IT supplier’s innovations in AI. Scheithe said she’s very interested to explore the use of the technology from SAP’s 2024 acquisition, WalkMe. This is a digital adoption platform technology that is increasingly associated with the use of SAP’s GenAI assistant, Joule. WalkMe sits on top of an organisation’s IT applications layer and determines where users might experience difficulties such as getting stuck when performing a process or task. WalkMe then provides guidance and automated processes that help the user complete the task. BASF is not using it as yet. It’s using Joule for HR tasks, in SuccessFactors, and Sheithe is especially interested in its use for developers. “We are not so naïve as to believe now that with implementing S/4 we will cover all our business requirements that we had in the past,” she said. “We have more than 300,000 custom objects in our system, and those were not done just because developers like to develop, but for business requirements. If we can’t get rid of those, we don’t want them in our core system, so it will be helpful if we have tools on hand that make our developers more efficient. This why I’m so excited about Joule for developers.” Thomas Saueressig, a member of the executive board of SAP for customer services and delivery, said: “We are proud to partner with BASF on this transformative journey. “By choosing SAP S/4Hana Cloud, BASF is laying a strong foundation for future growth and innovation,” he said. “The ability to leverage a clean core and standardised processes will provide BASF with the agility and resilience needed to thrive in today’s dynamic business environment.” In The Current Issue: UK government outlines plan to surveil migrants with eVisa data Why we must reform the Computer Misuse Act: A cyber pro speaks out Download Current Issue FinOps Foundation lays down 2025 Framework for Cloud+ cost control – Open Source Insider Bit Cloud offers Hope AI for developers  – CW Developer Network View All Blogs

Republican lawmakers have been battling over a bill that includes massive tax and spending cuts. Much of their disagreement has been over provisions intended to reduce the cost of Medicaid. The popular health insurance program, which is funded by both the federal and state governments, covers about 78.5 million low-income and disabled people—more than 1 in 5 Americans. On May 22, 2025, the House of Representatives narrowly approved the tax, spending, and immigration bill. The legislation, which passed without any support from Democrats, is designed to reduce federal Medicaid spending by requiring anyone enrolled in the program who appears to be able to get a job to either satisfy work requirements or lose their coverage. It’s still unclear, however, whether Senate Republicans would support that provision. Although there are few precedents for such a mandate for Medicaid, other safety net programs have been enforcing similar rules for nearly three decades. I’m a political scientist who has extensively studied the work requirements of another safety net program: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). As I explain in my book, Living Off the Government? Race, Gender, and the Politics of Welfare, work requirements place extra burdens on low-income families but do little to lift them out of poverty. Work requirements for TANF TANF gives families with very low incomes some cash they can spend on housing, food, clothing, or whatever they need most. The Clinton administration launched it as a replacement for a similar program, Aid to Families With Dependent Children, in 1996. At the time, both political parties were eager to end a welfare system they believed was riddled with abuse. A big goal with TANF was ending the dependence of people getting cash benefits on the government by moving them from welfare to work. Many people were removed from the welfare rolls, but not because work requirements led to economic prosperity. Instead, they had trouble navigating the bureaucratic demands. TANF is administered by the states. They can set many rules of their own, but they must comply with an important federal requirement: Adult recipients have to work or engage in an authorized alternative activity for at least 30 hours per week. The number of weekly hours is only 20 if the recipient is caring for a child under the age of 6. The dozen activities or so that can count toward this quota range from participating in job training programs to engaging in community service. Some adults enrolled in TANF are exempt from work requirements, depending on their state’s own policies. The most common exemptions are for people who are ill, have a disability, or are over age 60. To qualify for TANF, families must have dependent children; in some states pregnant women also qualify. Income limits are set by the state and range from $307 a month for a family of three in Alabama to $2,935 a month for a family of three in Minnesota. Adult TANF recipients face a federal five-year lifetime limit on benefits. States can adopt shorter time limits; Arizona’s is 12 months. An administrative burden Complying with these work requirements generally means proving that you’re working or making the case that you should be exempt from this mandate. This places what’s known as an “administrative burden” on the people who get cash assistance. It often requires lots of documentation and time. If you have an unpredictable work schedule, inconsistent access to child care, or obligations to care for an older relative, this paperwork is hard to deal with. What counts as work, how many hours must be completed, and who is exempt from these requirements often comes down to a caseworker’s discretion. Social science research shows that this discretion is not equally applied and is often informed by stereotypes. The number of people getting cash assistance has fallen sharply since TANF replaced Aid to Families With Dependent Children. In some states caseloads have dropped by more than 50% despite significant population growth. Some of this decline happened because recipients got jobs that paid them too much to qualify. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan office that provides economic research to Congress, attributes, at least in part, an increase in employment among less-educated single mothers in the 1990s to work requirements. Not everyone who stopped getting cash benefits through TANF wound up employed, however. Other recipients who did not meet requirements fell into deep poverty. Regardless of why people leave the program, when fewer low-income Americans get TANF benefits, the government spends less money on cash assistance. Federal funding has remained flat at $16.5 billion since 1996. Taking inflation into account, the program receives half as much funding as when it was created. In addition, states have used the flexibility granted them to direct most of their TANF funds to priorities other than cash benefits, such as pre-K education. Many Americans who get help paying for groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are also subject to work requirements. People the government calls “able-bodied adults without dependents” can only receive SNAP benefits for three months within a three-year period if they are not employed. A failed experiment in Arkansas Lawmakers in Congress and in statehouses have debated whether to add work requirements for Medicaid before. More than a dozen states have applied for waivers that would let them give it a try. When Arkansas instituted Medicaid work requirements in 2018, during the first Trump administration, it was largely seen as a failure. Some 18,000 people lost their health care coverage, but employment rates did not increase. After a court order stopped the policy in 2019, most people regained their coverage. Georgia is currently the only state with Medicaid work requirements in effect, after implementing a waiver in July 2023. The program has experienced technical difficulties and has had trouble verifying work activities. Other states, including Idaho, Indiana, and Kentucky, are already asking the federal government to let them enforce Medicaid work requirements. What this may mean for Medicaid The multitrillion-dollar bill the House passed by a vote of 215-214 would introduce Medicaid work requirements nationwide by late 2026 for childless adults ages 19 to 64, with some exemptions. But most people covered by Medicaid in that age range are already working, and those who are not would likely be eligible for work requirement waivers. An analysis by KFF—a nonprofit that informs the public about health issues—shows that in 2023, 44% of Medicaid recipients were working full time and another 20% were working part time. In 2023, that was more than 16 million Americans. About 20% of the American adults under 65 who are covered by Medicaid are not working due to illness or disability, or because of caregiving responsibilities, according to KFF. This includes both people caring for young children and those taking care of relatives with an illness or disability. In my own research, I read testimony from families seeking work exemptions because caregiving, including for children with disabilities, was a full-time job. The rest of the adults under 65 with Medicaid coverage are not working because they are in school, are retired, cannot find work, or have some other reason. It’s approximately 3.9 million Americans. Depending on what counts as “work,” they may be meeting any requirements that could be added to the program. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that introducing Medicaid work requirements would save around $300 billion over a decade. Given past experience with work requirements, it is unlikely those savings would come from Americans finding jobs. My research suggests it’s more likely that the government would trim spending by taking away the health insurance of people eligible for Medicaid coverage who get tangled up in red tape. This article was updated on May 22, 2025, with details about the House of Representatives’ passage of the budget bill. Anne Whitesell is an assistant professor of political science at Miami University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.