President Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” has passed in the House and is now awaiting Senate approval. If passed, Trump’s signature bill would extend the tax cuts granted by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and add additional tax cuts. While this might be welcome news to many, the bill also includes changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that could threaten seniors’ access to these programs.
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“The ‘one big beautiful bill’ passed by the House of Representatives, if it were passed into law today, would cut Medicaid and SNAP by a combined $1 trillion,” said Chris Orestis, president of Retirement Genius.
“In addition, because of the increase to federal debt of as much as $5 trillion, the bill would trigger an automatic reduction in Medicare funding of $500 billion,” he continued. “This would represent the largest cut to social services and health insurance for the poor, disabled, children and the elderly in U.S. history.”
Here’s a look at the changes retirees can make now to secure care and avoid benefit disruptions if the bill were to pass.
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Contact Your Healthcare Providers
Before changes go into effect, check with your healthcare providers to ensure there won’t be any interruption to your care if there are cuts to Medicaid.
“Check with your healthcare provider to see if they might cut back on services or cease accepting Medicaid-funded patients, and contact any nursing home where you or a loved one may reside to find out if they will be reducing the number of patients they can support — or even [if they are] possibly planning to close,” Orestis said.
Knowing this ahead of time will allow you to find alternative care providers before it’s too late.
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Find Other Programs That Provide Food Assistance
If you are reliant on SNAP, start searching for alternatives that may be able to provide food assistance in the event your benefits are reduced or cut.
“Make sure you know where there are local support services through community or faith-based organizations to replace lost access through SNAP,” Orestis said.
Make a Plan To Pay For Long-Term Care
Many retirees plan to “spend down” their savings so that they qualify for Medicaid to pay for their long-term care. However, this may no longer be a viable option.
“If you are considering going onto Medicaid for long-term care and are preparing to engage the ‘spend down’ process to impoverish yourself and get below the poverty level to qualify, you may want to reconsider that strategy, and instead look to leverage private pay resources to pay for your care,” Orestis said.
“If you are on Medicaid, you will primarily be reliant on nursing homes for your care, and their ability to withstand these cuts will be very challenging and up in the air,” he continued. “If you are private pay, you are in control and can decide where and when you will receive care, such as at home or an assisted living community not funded by Medicaid.”
Strategies to stay private pay for long-term care would include long-term care insurance, annuities, a life insurance settlement, a reverse mortgage or VA benefits.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Slash Medicaid & SNAP: 3 Moves Retirees Should Make Now
