Los Angeles, CA – The National Health Law Program strongly condemns the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a sweeping and dangerous measure that threatens to dismantle health care access. We urge Senators to reject this harmful bill and stand up for the millions of people, including millions of Californians, who rely on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act for their health and well-being.
If enacted, this legislation would slash more than $700 billion from Medicaid nationally, including more than $30 billion from Medi-Cal, stripping health coverage from millions of low-income people to finance tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. In California alone, up to 3.4 million people could lose Medi-Cal coverage, while an additional 4.2 million could lose Affordable Care Act coverage due to cuts to premium tax credits and other provisions.
This proposal punishes states like California that have taken bold steps to expand access to care, cover immigrants with state funds, and protect the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ communities. Among its most harmful provisions, the bill imposes harsh work requirements, eliminates retroactive Medi-Cal coverage, increases out-of-pocket costs for low-income enrollees, bans gender-affirming care, defunds trusted reproductive health providers like Planned Parenthood, and prohibits California from enforcing protections against discriminatory uses of artificial intelligence in health care.
“This bill is a cruel blueprint for dismantling Medi-Cal as we know it,” said Kim Lewis, Managing Director of California Advocacy at the National Health Law Program. “It targets California’s most effective efforts to ensure equitable access to care and turns our progress into a political weapon. We will fight back against this threat to our communities.”
“This is not a budget proposal. It is a direct assault on health care for millions of people across this nation,” said Elizabeth G. Taylor, Executive Director of the National Health Law Program. “The House GOP’s plan abandons people with disabilities, older adults, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and low-income families in order to reward the wealthy. We urge the Senate to reject this deeply harmful legislation.”
The National Health Law Program will continue to stand with advocates, partners, and communities across California and the nation to stop this bill and protect the health care rights of all people.
Learn more about the specific threats to California in our new factsheet Top 10 Reasons Why House Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill Is Bad for Medi-Cal (and the Affordable Care Act).
