Trump’s Landmark Health Bill Enacts Sweeping Medicaid Cuts, Threatening Millions

President Donald Trump has signed into law a controversial legislative package poised to become a defining achievement of his second term, despite earlier warnings to lawmakers to avoid cuts to vital social programs. The newly enacted “Big Beautiful Bill” includes significant changes to Medicaid, directly contradicting the President’s previous statements and campaign promises.

The legislation is projected to strip Medicaid coverage from as many as 15 million Americans, primarily through the imposition of stringent work requirements for “able-bodied” adults under 65. Critics argue these requirements create unnecessary hurdles for individuals seeking life-saving care, potentially forcing millions to forgo essential medical treatments like insulin, dialysis, and cancer screenings.

The new law also shifts substantial Medicaid expenses onto state budgets, forcing state lawmakers to find billions in already strained finances. This fiscal burden puts over 300 rural hospitals and nearly 600 nursing homes at severe risk of closure, further jeopardizing healthcare access across the nation. For those removed from Medicaid, purchasing individual health coverage through state marketplaces could see costs double.

Despite Republican claims that the bill does not cut Medicaid and will improve access for the “truly disabled and needy,” evidence from previous attempts to implement similar policies suggests otherwise. During Trump’s first term, pilot programs for Medicaid work requirements in states like New Hampshire and Arkansas led to massive coverage losses due to insurmountable administrative burdens, not a lack of eligibility or willingness to work. In Arkansas, one in four recipients lost coverage in just seven months.

Experts refute the notion that these work requirements will boost employment, noting that nearly two-thirds of working-age adults on Medicaid are already employed, with most others being students, caregivers, ill, or disabled. Instead, the new policy is expected to create a bureaucratic nightmare for 31 million working-age adults on Medicaid, forcing them to navigate confusing forms and glitchy government websites.

The “immaterial minutiae” of Medicaid policy, as Vice President J.D. Vance reportedly described it, is anything but. Analysts estimate the cuts could lead to as many as 200,000 preventable deaths, alongside widespread hospital and nursing home closures, and increased insurance premiums. The bill’s passage marks a significant reversal of President Trump’s past rhetoric on protecting healthcare access, raising concerns about the future of healthcare for millions of Americans.

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