Overview

• The One Big Beautiful Bill passed strictly along party lines, with no Democratic votes and only a few GOP defections, and was signed into law by President Trump on July 4.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asserts the law will increase Medicaid funding by 20 percent over ten years without cutting benefits for the program’s core recipients.
• The Congressional Budget Office projects that new work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks will lead to 11.8 million people losing Medicaid coverage by 2034.
• Key Medicaid reforms—including biannual eligibility reviews and community engagement mandates—are delayed until after Dec. 31, 2026, a timing choice aimed at deferring political fallout.
• Democrats are gearing their 2026 midterm campaigns around the bill’s deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, while Republicans plan to spotlight its tax breaks and defense and border spending measures.