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The Senate is slashing Medicaid and Affordable Care by $1 trillion and 12 million people will lose their health insurance.
We know what this means for many: current enrollees—many of whom are unemployed, have a disability, are in school, or care for a family member—will no longer be able to visit the doctor when sick, have mental health visits, or receive treatment for chronic ailments.
What’s less obvious, but becoming more apparent, as the “BBB” nears the president’s desk, is that less cash in healthcare means less care in already underserved—largely rural—communities. Rural hospitals operate on thin margins and often rely on Medicaid, meaning that more than 300 rural hospitals—many in California, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Kentucky—will likely be closed.
Affordable Care is also being thrust into uncertainty. It will be harder to enroll and retain a plan, and the red tape around signing up will be far more tedious and subject to delays than previously. People seeking changes in coverage—because they lost a job or have a newborn, for example—will have a waiting period before getting their new plan approved, and the upstream impact could result in a 75% increase in premiums in 2026 (KFF).
No surprise, even those on Medicaid will have to pay more for care. Emergency room visits could become even more costly, and many people will be left to foot that bill without insurance. What could happen, then, is that a Medicaid patient fails to pay their bill and hospitals would be responsible for that money.
The GOP did promise $50 billion (over five years) in funding to rural facilities, but many still believe the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill” will be devastating to their business and their patients.
At bottom, fewer people with health insurance means fewer people getting medical services, which means more spread of viruses, worse mental health and, ultimately, thousands of unnecessary deaths.
We recognize how rapidly this situation could devolve, and that healthcare facilities face unforseen pressures. Regardless of legislation, regardless of any policy movements thrust upon healthcare, ShiftRx is committed to accessible, affordable, high quality healthcare. No excuses, no caveats, no absenteeism.
Hospitals and pharmacies should not be shutting down. Healthcare providers should not be squeezed out of their professions. Sick patients should not be left on their own.
There is enough money, enough resources, and enough expertise in the world to provide exceptional care for everyone.
That’s why we are here.
To support patients in need.
To support providers in need.
To keep the lights on in care.
To ensure no one is left behind.
Sources:
https://www.vox.com/health-care/418431/big-beautiful-bill-lose-medicaid-trump