House Rep Debbie Dingell, Report on the Huge Negative Impact on Health Care of the “Big Ugly Bill”
I thought I’d share with you the comments of Debbie Dingell, Representative of Michigan’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, on the “Big Ugly Bill.” Here from the “Dingell Report of March 14, 2026 is the section most important for Elders and those relying on Medicaid benefits.
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Big Ugly Bill Impact on Health Care |
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Led a letter with Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet urging the Trump Administration to protect health care access for Medicaid recipients as it begins to implement onerous work requirements included in the Big Ugly Bill. The lack of clarity in this law will likely lead to coverage losses of about 5 million people. Evidence from the few states that have attempted to implement work requirements demonstrate the policy’s lack of success, including in our home state of Michigan. But beyond this, the short time for implementation may prove catastrophic for Medicaid beneficiaries. The law requires states to implement work requirement mandates across all state Medicaid programs by December 31st. However, HHS is not expected to release its implementation guidance until June 2026, meaning states will be pressed for time to implement policies that will ultimately require complex system changes and substantial coordination across sectors in the health care system. Emphasis added |