What’s in the One Big Beautiful Bill?
Where is the beauty of it?
More deficits
At the center of the "one big, beautiful bill" is an extension of Mr. Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was slated to sunset at the end of the year. The legislation would make most of the tax cuts permanent, while increasing spending for border security, defense and energy production.
The bill is partially paid for by significant cuts to health care and nutrition programs, like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
♦ The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would add $3.4 trillion to federal deficits over the next 10 years and leave millions without health insurance.
• Republicans and the White House dispute those forecasts.
This bill has a lot of parts. Here are a few links to sites which dig down deeper into the bill’s effects. The links were generated by Google’s AI search engine when we asked it to explain this bill.
As the AI says: AI responses may include mistakes.
The articles at these sites make for interesting reading. We cannot confirm nor endorse their authors’ interpretations of the One Big Beautiful Bill. We encourage you to seek out more information that might be a better fit for your life situation.
We also asked Google’s AI two important questions
► How does the one big beautiful bill affect Medicare?
► How does the one big beautiful bill affect Social Security?
The AI got rather wordy with both questions. See it’s response at the end of this article.
We encourage you to pose your own questions to the AI. The jury is still out as to whether the AI has a partisan bias.
Center for American Progress
The Truth About the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's Cuts to ...
The Center for American Progress and The Arc break down the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, exposing how its deep cuts to Medicaid and Medicare will lead to benefit losses, increased paperwork requirements, and rural hospital closures that will hurt Americans—especially people with disabilities.
NPR
5 ways Trump's megabill will limit health care access - NPR
1. Many people will have to work to stay on Medicaid.
2. Less cash means less care in rural communities.
3. ACA coverage will become harder to get and keep.
4. Those on Medicaid will pay more to see the doctor.
5. Some immigrants will lose access to subsidized ACA plans.
Global Refuge
How Does the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Affect Healthcare?
The OBBBA makes sweeping changes across the U.S. immigration system on enforcement, work authorization, fees, and access to services like SNAP, and healthcare. A lot of information for immigrants and refugees.
KFF
How Will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Affect the ACA ... - KFF
A must read for anyone on Obamacare. Lot's of changes in the works.
The Medicaid provisions in the House Reconciliation bill would increase the number of people without health insurance by at least 7.8 million. Provisions affecting the ACA Marketplaces will increase uninsured by 3.1 million. Expiration of the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits will lead to 4.2 million more uninsured.
Commonwealth Fund
How Medicaid, SNAP Cutbacks Would Trigger Job Losses ...
How Medicaid and SNAP Cutbacks in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Would Trigger Big and Bigger Job Losses Across States. States with higher rates of poverty would likely be harmed more.
AI Answers to troubling questions
How does the one big beautiful bill affect Medicare?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, includes provisions that will affect Medicare.
Impact on Medicare
• Medicare eligibility: The law eliminates Medicare eligibility for certain non-citizens, including refugees, asylees, and those with temporary protected status, according to Global Refuge. These changes are set to take effect in January 2027, although individuals already on Medicare will retain coverage for 18 months following the enactment of the law.
• Medicare savings programs: The OBBBA prevents the implementation of rules that would have made it easier for low-income Medicare enrollees to access Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs), which help cover premiums and cost-sharing. These changes may disproportionately affect people with disabilities, who are more likely to have lower incomes.
• Potential for automatic cuts: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) indicates that, absent further congressional action, the bill could trigger automatic Medicare payment reductions of 4%, totaling $490 billion from 2027 to 2034, according to the Center for American Progress.
• Physician payments: The law provides a temporary, one-year, 2.5% increase to the Medicare physician fee schedule conversion factor, effective January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027.
• Orphan drug exclusion: The OBBBA expands the criteria for the orphan drug exclusion under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, beginning in 2026.
Note: The White House has stated that the OBBBA does not cut Medicare benefits. However, some sources, including the Center for American Progress, argue that the elimination of eligibility for certain individuals and the changes to the MSPs will increase costs for a significant number of Medicare enrollees.
AI responses may include mistakes.
How does the one big beautiful bill affect social security?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) does not directly eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, contrary to claims made in an email from the Social Security Administration.
Instead, it introduces a new, temporary tax deduction that may indirectly reduce the taxes some seniors pay on their benefits.
Here's how the OBBBA affects Social Security:
• Tax Deduction for Seniors: The bill creates an additional tax deduction of $6,000 for individuals aged 65 and older and $12,000 for married couples filing jointly if both spouses are 65 or older. This deduction applies to a senior's entire income, not just Social Security benefits, and could result in some seniors paying less federal income tax overall, potentially reducing the amount of Social Security benefits subject to taxation.
• Income Limits for the Deduction: The deduction is subject to income limitations, beginning to phase out for individuals with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $75,000 ($150,000 for married couples filing jointly) and disappearing entirely for individuals with MAGI over $175,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly).
• Temporary Nature: The senior tax deduction is temporary, set to expire at the end of the 2028 tax year unless Congress takes action to extend it.
• Impact on Social Security Funding: Some experts are concerned that by reducing federal tax revenue, this deduction could accelerate the projected insolvency date of the Social Security trust fund, according to CNBC and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the enhanced senior deduction could reduce Social Security tax revenue by approximately $30 billion annually, potentially moving the insolvency date up to late 2032 from early 2033.
It's important to remember that the OBBBA does not directly change the rules regarding the taxation of Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration, in a press statement and email, claimed the bill eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, which some sources have called misleading. The bill primarily affects seniors' tax liability through the newly introduced deduction, potentially reducing the portion of their benefits subject to federal income tax.
