Throughout this year, from women’s health, to Medicaid, to access and affordability, millions of families will likely experience health care very differently because of policy changes in place or under way triggered by the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“We’re bracing ourselves for 2026 to be a year of grim milestones for women’s health,” said Erin Mackay, managing director of health justice at National Partnership for Women & Families.
The organization articulated the adverse effects from recent policy moves in its blog, “53 Ways the Trump Administration Is Harming Women and Families.”
On that list are access and affordability. For instance, now that the Senate failed to extend now-expired ACA enhanced premium tax credits, an estimated 21 million enrollees now have to scramble to pay more for health care or find an alternative, including 10 million women.
“The Trump Administration has made many changes, and there are ongoing changes, and we are starting to feel ripple effects that we will feel for a long time,” Mackay said.
Kaiser Family Foundation research found that women with low income, non-citizen women, and women from marginalized groups are less likely to have health insurance. And health outcomes are much worse among women and all individuals who lack access to health care.
Some Medicaid beneficiaries will lose coverage over time. The OBBBA gutted about $1 trillion from the ACA and Medicaid programs, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates 7.8 million people will lose Medicaid coverage by 2034 because of policy changes being implemented this year. But in the meantime, experts say new work requirements rolling out in 2027 will trigger about 5.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage. Medicaid ensures 1 in 5 low-income individuals have comprehensive or long-term health care coverage.
These changes come along with the OBBBA’s 2025 Tax and Budget Law, which will also result in 1.4 million lawfully present immigrants losing health insurance, per the CBO’s calculations.
And maternal health care could be weakened as states now have to decide whether to keep an optional 12 months of postpartum coverage in their Medicaid programs.
The total impact of the Administration’s historic rollbacks cannot yet be fully calculated.
Policy experts say the combined coverage losses are expected to reverberate through hospitals, clinics, and public health systems, increasing uncompensated care, delaying treatment, and deepening disparities in who can access consistent, affordable health care. Low-income families, immigrants, and people in states that scale back Medicaid protections are at special risk.
