Utah Department of Health Director David Sundwall and his counterpart at the Department of Workforce Services are on to something: Some people receiving Medicaid benefits could be holding down jobs that would provide them with health insurance and get them off Medicaid rolls.

It sounds like egregious waste. Government officials should limit government health benefits to those who qualify for them and discourage misuse of the system. After all, Medicaid rolls are growing, and the state is struggling to pay its share of the benefits. But, since the vast majority of Medicaid beneficiaries are children, with the elderly, disabled adults and pregnant women comprising most of the rest, we have our doubts about the potential savings of trying to put some Medicaid beneficiaries to work.

Workforce Services Director Kristen Cox has provided no details about the program, although Sundwall says it is her idea. And a health department spokesman said he can't say what might happen once able-bodied unemployed beneficiaries are identified. Nor did he say the department knows of any people collecting benefits without meeting eligibility standards.

We assume most unemployed people, including those in Medicaid, are already trying to find jobs. First, the department would have to figure out which ones weren't trying hard enough.

And then what? With the nation in a slow recovery from recession and unemployment in Utah around 7 percent, how would the two agencies put such freeloaders to work? Would they do more than Workforce Services is presently doing to help these people find jobs? Would they provide them training or somehow create jobs for them — jobs with medical insurance? And how would the state pay for such things?

Simply getting a job doesn't guarantee an income sufficient to get off Medicaid. After all, there are many employed people — some Utah public-school teachers, for example — whose income would qualify them for Medicaid.

And then there is the problem of the federal law governing Medicaid, which prohibits states imposing special requirements on some of those who qualify for benefits.

The two state agencies are responding to dissatisfaction over what some legislators see as an entitlement culture in Utah, specifically, to a proposal from Rep. Ronda Menlove, R-Garland, to have Medicaid beneficiaries do community service in exchange for health care. But it's not that simple.

There's a good chance the costs of putting beneficiaries to work would exceed any savings. Let's nail down the numbers.