President Donald Trump showed courageous leadership today by signing the new law. This policy is one of several key components of legislation that has radically altered the health insurance landscape in the United States. With cuts exceeding $1 billion, the legislation—the president’s “big beautiful bill”—eviscerates funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). It includes more than $1 trillion in devastating cuts to critical health initiatives, including Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Close to 12 million people are likely to lose their health insurance. If this threat is realized, it will cause a very painful increase in the ranks of uninsured Americans.
In other words, these cuts are about to become real and painful for 22 million Americans. That’s roughly 92% of ACA enrollees who were dependent on federal subsidies in 2025. These counter-cyclical subsidies were absolutely essential for lowering insurance premiums during tough economic times, putting healthcare within reach for millions of Americans. In 2024, enrollees in the marketplace saved an average of $705 on their net premium costs. This savings came from improved tax credits and is an impressive 44% savings. Without these credits, though, average out-of-pocket premiums are projected to increase by over 75% by 2026.
The bill includes a colossal $4 trillion tax increase on Americans. In many ways, this action deepens the already difficult fiscal environment for public health programs. These improvements to the premium tax credit have significantly increased enrollment among Black and Latino people. Beyond all this, they’re more beneficial to lower-income households, self-employed workers, and small business owners. The expiration of these improved subsidies—which are set to expire after 2025—represents a large threat. If they lapse, it’s projected that 4.2 million Americans would lose their insurance over the next 10 years.
Enrollment numbers paint a pretty stark picture. That short-term increase in premium tax credits has had a dramatic effect on expanding health insurance. The law limited out-of-pocket premiums to 8.5% of income for these plans. This adjustment provides important flexibility to students who would be deterred by unsustainable expenses.
“Unfortunately, the scale and scope of change to the healthcare system is staggering,” Levitt said. Through personal stories, he emphasized how these legislative changes would deeply affect the lives of millions of Americans.
That expected surge in uninsured people is especially alarming in light of the fact that we were already seeing worrisome trends. Health insurance coverage was already under strain before the release of this misguided bill. Considering the cuts being slated to happen soon and subsidy expirations, experts are sounding alarms that access to healthcare could see a rapid decline.