WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act, a sweeping proposal that slashes billions of dollars from the Medicaid program and imposes dangerous new work requirements. If enacted, the bill would strip health care from millions of low-income people across the country.
The National Health Law Program (NHeLP) strongly condemns this legislation, which prioritizes tax breaks for billionaires and the largest corporations over the health and dignity of low-income communities. The bill’s deep cuts to Medicaid will result in fewer people being covered, fewer services available, and a weaker health care system for everyone, especially those who rely on it the most.
“There is nothing beautiful about this bill. It is a direct attack on low-income people, on people with disabilities, on immigrants, and on families doing their best to survive in an economy stacked against them,” said Elizabeth G. Taylor, Executive Director of the National Health Law Program. “Lawmakers know exactly what this bill will do. It will kick people off Medicaid and make it harder to get and keep coverage. That is not fiscal responsibility. It is cruelty and indifference by design.”
Among the most harmful provisions in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” is a national mandate for Medicaid work requirements. These bureaucratic barriers do not promote employment. Instead, they punish people who are already working in low-wage jobs, or who have a disability, chronic condition or caregiving responsibilities. The bill also “defunds” reproductive health providers like Planned Parenthood, causing irreparable harm to critical health access throughout the country. Caps to state Medicaid taxes and other changes to the program will slash billions of more dollars and force states to make difficult decisions on who gets care and what care and services are available. Additional provisions undermine protections assisting individuals obtain and retain Medicaid and marketplace coverage and prevent states from spending their own funds to provide health insurance to immigrants. We could go on and on about all the ways the bill strips health insurance from low-income individuals to give billionaires huge tax cuts.
“This is an attack on working-class people,” said Mara Youdelman, Managing Director, Federal Advocacy. “People need Medicaid in order to work. It is not the other way around. Imposing work requirements will disproportionately harm people with disabilities, caregivers, people with chronic conditions, and older adults. It will push more families deeper into poverty. We have seen the data. We know this does not work.”
NHeLP has a long history of successfully protecting Medicaid from such attacks. During the first Trump administration, NHeLP led the legal challenge that overturned Arkansas’ dangerous work requirement program, the first of its kind in the country. NHeLP also blocked implementation of similar efforts in multiple states where the courts agreed that imposing work requirements is arbitrary and capricious and counter to the purpose of the Medicaid program.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the bill’s Medicaid provisions would lead to millions of people losing coverage and billions of dollars in lost federal funding. These cuts would devastate state health programs, undermine rural health care, and harm communities already facing serious health disparities. This bill does not save money. It shifts costs and suffering onto those least able to bear them.
NHeLP urges the Senate to reject this reckless and harmful legislation. Congress should be advancing policies that expand access to care, strengthen Medicaid, and invest in a healthier future for everyone — not ripping health care away from millions of people.
We’re not done fighting. Checkout all of our Medicaid Defense resources and learn about how you can get involved in the fight to save Medicaid.
