(SeaPRwire) –
By: Sylvia Brooks
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025, isn’t just a fiscal move. It’s a betrayal of disabled people who rely on Medicaid to live and work. Take the actor who uses a motorized wheelchair and ventilator—both paid for by Medicaid. Without that coverage, they’d face a life crisis, not a career.
Official policy documents lay out the numbers clearly. The CBO says the bill cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid over a decade. By 2034, 7.5 million more people will be uninsured. Add other health provisions, and that number jumps to 10 million. The Center for American Progress points out these cuts exactly match $1 trillion in tax cuts for the top 1%—nearly half going to 200,000 households making over $2 million a year. This is a transfer of wealth from the poor and disabled to the richest Americans.
The hidden cost is human lives. Before the bill’s final form, three researchers published a peer-reviewed study in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Their mid-range estimate: 16,642 additional preventable deaths a year. Disabled people, who are high-cost enrollees, will bear the brunt. The ADA, signed in 1990 by George H.W. Bush, promised independence—home-based services keep people out of nursing homes. But the bill cuts those services. Visibility on TV (like the actor’s new show Furious) doesn’t pay for care. It’s a distraction from the real harm.
If these cuts aren’t reversed, disabled people will lose the independence the ADA fought for. More will be forced into nursing homes. More will die preventable deaths. The government is choosing tax cuts for the rich over the lives of its most vulnerable citizens.
Author bio: Sylvia Brooks, a veteran analyst of healthcare procurement policy and pharmaceutical pricing mechanisms, advocates for equitable public health funding.