This is the largest cut to Medicaid in the program’s history. Medicaid goes by many names: Medic-Cal in California, SoonerCare in Oklahoma, STAR+PLUS in Texas, and Medical Assistance in many states.
An estimated 8.7 million Americans (or 1 in 10 Medicaid enrollees) will lose Medicaid coverage. Other analyses show up to 17 million Americans losing their health coverage, including Medicaid and non-Medicaid coverage because costs for the ACA marketplace will increase, and people will not be able to have certain types of care covered by ACA insurance.
Few people buy the argument that states can manage Medicaid on their own. This bill will increase costs and make it harder for states to provide services for the residents that need them. States will have to increase paperwork requirements and reevaluate the eligibility of working adults every 6 months instead of annually, making it harder for people with disabilities and for low-income individuals to get and stay on Medicaid and increasing the administrative burden and costs to the states.
This is especially important because states are losing a way to afford Medicaid services: provider tax freezes will reduce states’ abilities to cover additional care, which means that states will have to cut benefits or make large changes in reimbursement.
Because the OBBBA allows states to lower provider payment rates and reduce oversight, HCBS services are at risk of being cut, making it harder to maintain adequate care. Without federal protections, states facing budget pressures may reduce funding for home- and community-based services, leading to fewer providers and more unmet needs for people with disabilities.
Along with the major cuts to Medicaid programs, we will also see cuts to SNAP: 22.3 million American families will lose some or all of their SNAP benefits. 5.3 million families will lose over $25 per month in SNAP benefits – 3.3 million of these families have children and 3.5 million of these families have at least one working family member. This bill will also reduce eligibility for SNAP by instituting work requirements for parents and older adults.
23 states warn they will not be able to fully fund SNAP with these cuts without cutting other vital programs because for the first time, they will be expected to pay for at least five percent of SNAP costs. This has historically been a fully federal funded program.
So, what do we do now?
This “Big Beautiful Bill” has passed the House and Senate and has been signed into law by the president. We’ll start to see cuts to and work requirements for Medicaid next year, but to SNAP as early as this year. Funding changes to SNAP and Medicaid will not take effect for a few more years.
It may not feel like there’s a lot “regular people” can do, but constituents are powerful in numbers. We need to make sure we hold our state and national representatives accountable. If your life gets harder, if your Medicaid is cut, if your child can no longer get SNAP benefits, call your representatives – not the agencies that administer the programs – especially if your rep said you (or people like you) wouldn’t lose services. Write letters to your reps. Schedule meetings! Tell your friends to do the same. Flood the staff with information and stories. Remind your representatives that they are in office to support you and keep the pressure up for positive change.
Plain Language:
This is the largest cut to Medicaid ever. Medicaid has different names in different states, like Medic-Cal in California and STAR+PLUS in Texas.
An estimated 8.7 million Americans will lose Medicaid coverage. Other analyses show up to 17 million Americans losing their health coverage, including people with other insurance because costs for the ACA marketplace will increase.
This bill will make it harder for states to provide services. States will have to reevaluate the eligibility of working adults every 6 months, making it harder for people with disabilities to stay on Medicaid and making it more expensive for the states.
This is important because provider tax freezes will reduce states’ abilities to cover additional care, which means that states will have to cut benefits or make large changes in reimbursement.
HCBS services are also at risk of being cut, making it harder to maintain adequate care. States may reduce funding for home- and community-based services, leading to unmet needs for people with disabilities.
Along with the cuts to Medicaid, 22.3 million American families will lose some or all of their SNAP benefits. 5.3 million families will lose over $25 per month in SNAP benefits. This bill will also create SNAP work requirements for parents and older adults.
23 states say they will not be able to fully fund SNAP without cutting other programs. SNAP has always been totally funded by the federal government.
So, what do we do now?
This bill has been signed into law. We’ll start to see changes to Medicaid next year and to SNAP as early as this year. Funding changes to SNAP and Medicaid will not take effect for a few more years.
It may not feel like there’s a lot you can do, but there is. If you lose your Medicaid or SNAP, or any other benefit, you need to let your representative know. You can call them or write a letter. You can also schedule a meeting to talk to someone from their office! You can also tell your friends to do these things. Your representative works for you, and you can remind them that you are hurt because of what is happening.
Written by:
Aubrey Rowan
Archer Fellow, NACDD
