Without a Net: Who Will Feel the Pain From Budget Cuts?

Millions of Americans are now at risk of losing health care coverage or food assistance under the GOP’s recently passed mega-budget, which includes sweeping cuts and new restrictions on critical social safety net grams

To partly offset the steep cost, the bill targets reductions across the board — but hits health and food assistance grams hardest (which is quite significant) (noteworthy indeed), considering recent developments

Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance gram (SNAP) subsidies face deep cuts and work requirements

Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies will also be reduced

On the other hand, This demonstrates that burden of these cuts is expected to fall most heavily on existing and eligible recipients, as well as on state health grams, food banks and rural hospitals that depend on federal support to der services to vulnerable populations (something worth watching)

The timing of certain changes to social safety net grams isn’t entirely — the bill didn’t attach a specific implementation date for SNAP work requirements, for example, but it could be as early as this year

On the other hand, “We’re not all going to wake up one morning and find millions more people uninsured,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health care policy for KFF, a health care policy and re organization, during a press call on July 9 (remarkable data)

Furthermore, He added that the impact of changes to Medicaid and the ACA will roll out slowly over the next decade

With gram restrictions and cuts looming, here are the people and grams who will feel the most pain

People who rely on Medicaid for health care coverageMore than 78 million people are enrolled in Medicaid in 2025, according to Medicaid

Additionally, They include eligible low-income adults, pregnant women, children, older adults and people with disabilities

The evidence shows demonstrates that bill's changes to Medicaid will unfold in two phases, in today's market environment

First, states must enact work requirements by the end of 2026, according to the bill, considering recent developments

To stay enrolled in Medicaid, recipients must demonstrate they are working, caring for small children, attending school or work training at least 80 hours per month

And yet, KFF finds that most people under the age of 65 who receive Medicaid are already working full-time or part-time or attending school

So it’s not lack of work or schooling that would push Medicaid enrollees off their health care coverage, it’s the complex red tape that the new requirements introduce

Nevertheless, That's, at least, how it worked when Arkansas tried to do it, considering recent developments

Nevertheless, Arkansas briefly implemented 80-hour-per-month Medicaid work requirements for enrollees ages 30 to 49, in this volatile climate

During that time, 18,000 people — 25% of the covered population — lost health care coverage, according to a September 2020 study from Harvard T, given current economic conditions

Meanwhile, Chan School of Public Health (something worth watching)

Conversely, The losses were largely due to failures in reporting or documentation, not ineligibility

Moreover, the policy had no effect on employment in the 18 months ing the end of the gram

But there were significant health and financial consequences for those who lost coverage, compared to those who remained on Medicaid: Nearly 50% reported serious medical debt blems, while 56% delayed health care and 64% delayed taking medications, both due to cost

At the highest risk for losing coverage are those with chronic illness or disabilities who cannot obtain exemptions; those with mental health conditions; and those whose work hours fluctuate from one month to the next, such as seasonal or gig workers, considering recent developments

At the same time, Visions include new cost-sharing charges between states and low-income working enrollees for certain health care services, considering recent developments

The changes also require states to end non-Medicaid health care coverage for immigrants, considering recent developments

People who have health coverage through ACA marketplaces Changes to ACA requirements and subsidies could result in 8. 2 million people losing health care coverage through ACA marketplaces, according to CBO estimates (something worth watching)

The first set of changes are stricter requirements: Those who access health care through the ACA marketplace face new annual conditions for income and immigration

They’ll also face a shorter window to enroll each year

The most significant impact is what’s missing from the bill: An extension of the enhanced premium tax credits for ACA marketplace coverage, put in place during the pandemic, which expire at the end of the year, given current economic conditions

Premium tax credits are a federal subsidy that helps cover monthly premium costs for those who purchase health insurance through the ACA marketplace

If enhanced tax credits expire, out-of-pocket premiums in the marketplace could increase by more than 75% and up to 90% in rural areas, according to KFF CEO Drew Altman, during the press call

He also said that enrollment could drop as much as 50% in rural areas

Levitt added that the measures in the bill amount to “what is effectively a partial repeal of the ACA," which passed 15 years ago

Furthermore, Population

However, State health grams and rural hospitals Federal cuts to Medicaid and the ACA will shift financial responsibilities onto states, which is ly to add financial strain to state health grams and hospitals — particularly community health centers and rural hospitals

For decades, states have used vider taxes to help fund Medicaid and state-directed payments

Additionally, Nevertheless, The bill limits how states can do so

Robin Rudowitz, vice president at KFF and director of the gram on Medicaid and the Uninsured, said during the press call that if states are limited in how they can use vider taxes, they’ll have to come up with other ways to replace that money increased taxes, cuts to other gram spending or further changes to their Medicaid grams

What the re reveals is cuts would also mean hospitals will receive lower payments, which means hospitals may have to scale back certain services or close altogether

Moreover, Hospitals with low margins, rural hospitals, are ly to face the biggest obstacles

On the other hand, Kentucky, for example, relies heavily on vider taxes, in light of current trends

A study from University of North Carolina found that 35 rural hospitals in Kentucky could be in danger of closing due to the visions in the bill

But the fund won’t ly offset the cuts

Levitt said “Delayed relief, even if sizable, won’t arrive fast enough to prevent closures

More than 42 million people receive SNAP benefits, according to the USDA — 12% of the U

However, Meanwhile, It’s worth noting that there are already work requirements built into the SNAP gram — able-bodied people without dependents, ages 18 to 49, must work at least 20 hours per week or 80 hours per month

It also eliminates or tightens exemption criteria for states to waive work requirements for certain individuals

However, The issues that SNAP work requirements present remain, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP): increased administrative burdens, more people losing assistance and no imvements in long-term employment outcomes

While food banks don’t directly rely on SNAP to der its services, a loss of SNAP funds could put added pressure on already-strained grams

Her work has been syndicated in national news outlets including The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today

See full bio (remarkable data).