Changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: What physicians need to know
New AMA resources on Public Law 119-21 (PDF)—the massive budget reconciliation package known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025—highlight the impact that forthcoming funding cuts and policy changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces will have on patients, physicians, hospitals and health care coverage.
As the OBBBA was debated in the House and Senate, the AMA advocated against provisions that will severely cut funding for federal health programs and restrict access to health coverage. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the OBBBA will increase the number of people without health insurance by 10 million in 2034. If the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits are not extended past the end of 2025, CBO estimates that the number of uninsured people will increase by more than 14 million in 2034.
A summary of select OBBBA provisions and an implementation timeline for ACA, Medicaid, SNAP and student loan changes are available on a new AMA webpage launched to keep physicians up to date on OBBBA implementation and related federal rulemaking. New issue briefs are also available on topics of interest to physicians and medical students, including:
Changes to Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, eligibility and cost-sharing (PDF)
Changes to ACA marketplace eligibility, enrollment and affordability (PDF)
Changes to ACA marketplace eligibility and access for immigrants (PDF)
Bookmark the AMA webpage to stay on top of the latest developments related to OBBBA and stay tuned for new resources.
