On July 4, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. The OBBBA is estimated to increase the federal deficit by more than $3 billion, while cutting nearly $1 trillion from federal health care programs over the next 10 years.
This will leave millions of Americans uninsured and make health care less accessible. The OBBBA is a threat to the services that health care providers intend to provide.
OBBBA proposes cuts to Medicaid that could lead to the loss of health insurance for 12 million Americans by 2034. While the Student Health Center does not accept Medicaid, San Marcos currently has over 50 providers that do, all of which are at risk for losing funding.
David Wiley, project manager of Community Action Inc. of Central Texas, a non-profit organization that works to guide people through programs like Medicaid, said students on Medicaid must be aware of other options available to them.
“There was a work requirement, so a lot of people got kicked off of Medicaid because they didn’t know how to satisfy the work requirements,” Wiley said. “[In] Texas, it’s really tough. If you are on Medicaid and not waived from it, you need to make sure you’re up to date on what documents it takes to verify your employment.”
Under the new rules stated by OBBBA, automatic re-enrollment for all government-funded health care programs would be eliminated. Medicaid is not the only program that faces large budget cuts; the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also faces significant changes. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states that many Americans currently using the ACA will pay higher costs to maintain health coverage.
Wiley said that students currently benefiting from ACA must be aware of the changes and understand how they are affected.
“The bigger problem…is the marketplace, which is [ACA],” Wiley said. “What’s happening right now is that as of Jan. 1, the federal subsidies to help you pay for [ACA] are being eliminated. If you have students at Texas State who are on [ACA], they need to be concerned.”
Providers for government-assisted health care programs will have no choice but to follow the new rules in OBBBA. American Progress projects the immediate closures of more than 190 hospitals in rural areas.
By taking away health care for millions of Americans, OBBBA will have a large impact on the future of health care. It is vital for students to understand their options and how to access them.
Affected students can reach out to their communities for assistance and guidance. While the Student Health
Studeny Health Center doesn’t currently provide services to Medicaid or ACA users, plenty of providers, such as Communicare’s two San Marcos locations, do. Students must be willing to reach out to these providers to ensure they receive the healthcare they deserve.
“We can call it the big, beautiful bill and the politicians can all stand behind the president [and] clap,” Wiley said. “They don’t think it’s a big deal until they see the SNAP benefit cuts or the San Marcos free bus service cut in half. It’s these little things that people don’t realize are due to budget cuts.”
-Shar Kiefer is a political science sophomore
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