When the program was created 60 years ago, it never dawned on anyone that you would take able-bodied individuals who could work and put them on Medicaid. Today the average able-bodied person on Medicaid who doesn't work, they watch 6.1 hours of television or just hang out.

The claim has two main components: first, that when Medicaid was created 60 years ago, it was not intended to cover able-bodied individuals who could work; second, that today, able-bodied Medicaid recipients who do not work spend an average of 6.1 hours a day watching television or just hanging out. Regarding the first component, Medicaid was established in 1965 primarily to provide health coverage to low-income families, including children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities. While the original program focused on vulnerable populations, over time Medicaid eligibility has expanded in many states to include able-bodied adults without dependent children, especially following the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion.milbank.orgmilbank.orgWho's Affected by Medicaid Work Requirements? It's Not Who You Think Thus, it is accurate that the original intent did not explicitly include able-bodied adults without disabilities or dependents; however, the program's scope has evolved significantly.

The second component about able-bodied Medicaid recipients spending 6.1 hours a day watching TV or hanging out is not supported by credible evidence. PolitiFact specifically fact-checked a similar claim that millions of able-bodied Medicaid recipients "simply choose not to work" and spend six hours a day socializing and watching television and found it unsupported.politifact.compolitifact.comAre 5 million able-bodied Medicaid recipients watching TV all day? That’s... There is no reliable data from government or academic sources confirming such detailed behavioral statistics about Medicaid recipients' daily activities. Moreover, many able-bodied adults on Medicaid are either working, seeking education or training, or have other legitimate reasons for not working. The claim also implies a stereotype that able-bodied Medicaid recipients are idle and unwilling to work, which is contradicted by research showing that work requirements can create administrative barriers leading to loss of coverage even among those who are working or have valid exemptions.cbpp.orgcbpp.orgMedicaid Work Requirements Could Put 36 Million People at Risk of Losing Health... In summary, while Medicaid's original design did not target able-bodied adults without dependents, the program has evolved to include them in many states. The assertion about their daily TV watching habits is unsubstantiated and reflects a misleading stereotype rather than fact. Therefore, the overall claim is misleading because it mixes some historical context with an unsupported and biased characterization of current Medicaid recipients.