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News Brief

May 22, 2025

Medicaid and the Affordable Care act program users will feel the impact of reductions

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Late Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed what President Trump is branding as his quote "big beautiful bill," with just one vote to spare.

The legislation looks to remake government spending by slashing support programs, moving additional money to border security and the military, and extending tax cuts from his first administration. While the bill has wide ranging impacts, criticism has focused on cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act programs. The Associated Press esitmates nearly 8 million Medicaid users would lose care under the reductions. The bill also adds a requirement that anyone enrolled in the program must work at least 80 hours a month. Regions of the rural midwest have a high number of Medicare users. Roughly 1.2 million Missouri residents depend on Medicaid for their health coverage. That's one fifth of the state's population.

In Iowa meanwhile, hospitals are concerned about losing revenue along with patients. Erik Kusiak, who manages a nursing unit at a hospital in the state said the cuts could trickle down to his already overextended nurses.

Despite funding cuts included in the package, the Congressional Budget Office estimates it will, overall, add about 3.8 trillion dollars to the federal defecit over ten years. This is due to the tax cut provisions. The Senate will now take up the legislation for amendments and consideration.