On Tuesday afternoon (July 1), after several tense hours of negotiations, the United States Senate finally passed President Trump’s comprehensive tax cut and spending bill, also known as the “Big and Beautiful Act.” The part of the bill related to healthcare has sparked significant controversy, as evaluations indicate that the Senate version could result in tens of millions of people losing their health insurance. However, President Trump played down this concern on Tuesday, stating that the measure would only eliminate waste in government projects.
According to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Senate version will cut over $1 trillion from federal healthcare subsidies. If the bill ultimately passes Congress, it is projected that by 2034, 11.8 million Americans will lose their health insurance. During a visit to an immigrant detention facility in Florida on Tuesday, Trump was asked about the CBO’s analysis, to which he responded, “The actual numbers will be much lower than that.”
The President also assured that for Social Security, “we will take care of it properly,” and for Medicare and Medicaid, “we will save it.”
President Trump praised the Senate’s passage of the “Big and Beautiful Act” on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday. He remarked that there are many things to be proud of, but “the biggest winners will be the American people, who will enjoy permanently lowered taxes, higher wages and net income, a more secure border, and a stronger and more powerful military.”
He further added that Medicaid, Medicare, and social security benefits have not been cut but rather strengthened and protected by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in these programs.
The Senate’s version includes a requirement for Medicaid beneficiaries aged 19 to 64 to work a minimum of 80 hours per month to continue receiving the benefit, with exceptions for disabled individuals. There is also an exception where the House version allows parents with dependent children to be exempt from work requirements, while the Senate version stipulates that only parents with children aged 14 or younger qualify for the exemption.
The proposed Medicaid reform also mandates that states reevaluate insurance eligibility every six months instead of the current policy of once every 12 months.