Why does Medicaid and other low income benefits have a hard cut off on a specific income rather than role off proportionally as an individual makes more in the US?

Question

roll*

In: Economics

Answer 1

a better question is why they aren’t just extended to everyone, and then taxed on the other side? If I made $100,000 last year, but lost my job in June, I can’t afford the thing that is the benefit, but I can’t get it until I file my taxes next year.

Giving it to everyone, and then just taxing away the difference at the end of the year makes it cheaper to administer, and since everyone gets it they’ll demand it is actually good , rather than (because we don’t benefit) demanding it be cheap