Category Archives: Medicaid

OBBA Cuts and Open Enrollment: CCHCC is your trusted source for information

September 8, 2025

On July 4, 2025, Donald Trump signed the cartoonishly-named “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBA) into law. This budget bill creates a massive regressive transfer of wealth through its harmful provisions – these provisions impose massive cuts to programs that benefit lower- and middle-income individuals in order to fund tax cuts to the wealthiest families and corporations.

Some of the harmful cuts from OBBA are already beginning and will soon be affecting individuals and families who depend on programs such as SNAP (food stamps) and subsidies in the ACA Marketplace. The harmful impacts of OBBA will take place over a period of months and years.

Thanks to OBBA, the largest cut in the history of SNAP – the food stamp program that millions of individuals and families depend on to meet their nutritional needs – began on Monday, September 1, 2025. It is estimated that 2.4 million households will lose their SNAP benefits all together. And it is estimated that households across the U.S. who retain their SNAP benefits will lose anywhere from $72 to $231 per month, compared to their current benefit level.

You can count on Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) to provide you with the information you need, as these changes unfold and impact our community.

Many of these changes are starting to take place and will also have impacts on households as we head into Open Enrollment season for Medicare and the ACA Marketplace.

CCHCC is planning three Community Meetings for September and October – one to provide information on OBBA and the cuts that are coming; and two for Open Enrollments (Medicare and Marketplace).

Please mark your calendars and save these dates! And please note that all three of these Community Meetings will be held at the Champaign Public Library at 200 W. Green Street in Champaign.

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Save these dates for Community Meetings on OBBA and Open Enrollment

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August 21, 2025

Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) is preparing for a busy fall. We will be hosting a community meeting to help explain the provisions of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, which included massive spending cuts to healthcare and food programs, among other programs that people rely on.

Additionally, we are also preparing for Open Enrollment for both Medicare and the Marketplace, so we will be holding meetings on those topics and explaining any changes to these programs for 2026.

All events listed below will be held at the Champaign Public Library at 200 W. Green Street, in Champaign.

Please mark your calendars and save these dates:

Community Meeting on OBBA – Thursday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Champaign Public Library. This meeting will be open to the public. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide information about the budget bill passed by the Senate and the House, and signed into law on July 4, 2025. This budget bill slashes funding to many important health, food, and housing programs. We will provide information about the cuts to vital programs, why the cuts were made, when those cuts are expected to take effect, how they will impact our community, and what our community can do to mitigate the harmful impacts of these budget cuts.

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It’s our last chance to stop the disastrous “One Big Beautiful Bill”

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July 1, 2025

This is truly URGENT.

Senate Republicans just passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), and it’s headed back to the House of Representatives for a final vote. Pick up the phone and make your voice heard in this critical window!

The OBBBA will lead to over 17 million Americans losing their health insurance and drive up the cost of care across the board; imperil hospitals and other health providers; reduce and eliminate food assistance for millions of people including children, veterans, and other vulnerable Americans; terminate millions of jobs; spike energy costs; and explode the national debt.

Lawmakers haven’t even read the final text, but the House is taking steps to quickly pass the bill. This is a critical moment to speak out and tell your representative to vote NO. The health and well-being of Americans and the programs they rely on are at stake. Now is THE time to speak out and tell your lawmakers to vote against this extreme and harmful legislation.

TAKE ACTION NOW!
Call (202) 224-3121 to be connected with your representative TODAY.

Voting is scheduled for tomorrow, so don’t delay!

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URGENT: Call U.S. Senators NOW to vote NO on healthcare and food cuts

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June 30, 2025

This is URGENT.

Late Saturday night, Senate Republicans narrowly passed a motion to proceed, allowing debate to begin on their version of the devastating reconciliation budget bill. While they cleared this first procedural hurdle, a number of Republican senators continue to voice concerns about the health sections of the bill that make deep cuts to Medicaid and other social programs.

A Vote in the Senate is Expected Soon, and Health Care and Food Assistance are on the Line
In less than 24 hours, the Senate is expected to vote on the Republican budget reconciliation bill—and it’s even more extreme than the House bill. (To take action, please see the “Take Action NOW” section of this message further below.)

Here’s what’s at stake:
The Senate proposal would slash funding for Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and SNAP (food assistance)—all to pay for tax cuts that disproportionately benefit high-income earners.

Instead of moderating the House bill, the Senate doubled down—calling for deeper cuts and even more damage to programs for older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, children, and working families.
If passed, this legislation would:

Strip health coverage from at least 17 million Americans.
Cut millions of people off from critical food assistance.
Cause more preventable deaths, more rural hospital closures, and more dangerous nursing homes.
Raise health care costs for everyone by undermining system-wide affordability and stability.

Programs that help people with Medicare are directly under attack:

Nearly 1.4 million low-income people with Medicare could lose their Medicare Savings Program (MSP), making it harder to afford premiums and care. They would see lower Social Security checks as a result—costing them thousands of dollars each year.
Millions would lose automatic help paying for prescriptions through the Part D Low Income Subsidy (Extra Help), assistance valued at $6,200 in 2025.
For those who lose their MSP, Part B premiums and other out-of-pocket costs could consume up to one-third of their income, forcing impossible choices between health care, food, and housing.

The Senate could vote as soon as today, with the House quickly following. Republican lawmakers are aiming for final passage by July 4. We need your voice NOW to stop this.

READ ON TO TAKE ACTION!

Take action to protect Medicaid, Marketplace, and Medicare!

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June 11, 2025

We are facing a national crisis in health care. House Republicans recently passed their budget bill – the cartoonishly named “One Big Beautiful Bill” – by just one vote along party lines. There were no public hearings, and House members were not afforded time to read the bill before they chose to vote on it. This bill would slash funding for all of our most vital health programs: Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace, and yes – Medicare.

Roughly 15 million low- and moderate-income people would lose health coverage and become uninsured under the House Republicans’ sweeping and draconian health care agenda. Let’s be clear about one thing: there was no electoral “mandate” to cut healthcare programs. No one campaigned on getting rid of your health insurance or on driving up the costs of your health insurance so you end up paying more. So why, then, are these items in the Republican budget bill?

These cuts exist purely for the purpose of helping to pay for massive tax cuts for the wealthy. In other words, this bill would create a massive transfer of wealth from low- and moderate-income people and families, to the wealthiest people and corporations. There is no health policy that can justify these changes.

It is vile, and it is deeply dangerous.

We know that the end result of these cuts to healthcare programs will be that people will live sicker, and they will die younger from preventable conditions. Health insurance is crucial for giving people access to preventive, primary, and specialty care. Early detection and treatment saves lives. Health insurance coverage also helps fund the health care system that we all depend upon. Reducing coverage and creating more uninsured will devastate our healthcare systems.

Senator Jodi Ernst (R-Iowa) spoke the quiet part out loud when she expressed callous disregard for the impacts of this bill. At a rare Town Hall meeting in Iowa, when confronted by frightened constituents who fear that the Medicaid cuts could be fatal, Senator Ernst made light of her constituents’ concerns by saying “we are all going to die.” This callous and glib response is the sort of answer one might expect from a psychopath, and indicates that she does not care about quality of life for those who will suffer. Shame on her. Unfortunately, Sen. Ernst is clearly not the only member of Congress who has this attitude. In fact, this attitude of cruelty and disinterest is reflected in the House Republicans’ budget bill and their priorities for funding cuts and tax breaks.

Below is information about some of the provisions of this dangerous budget bill, and what’s next in the process and how you can help.