The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will make life significantly harder for older adults—especially the most vulnerable among us. Today, roughly 27 million households with adults age 60 and older cannot afford their basic living expenses. This legislation slashes the very programs they rely on to get by, pushing more older Americans into poverty.

One in five older adults depends on Medicaid for health coverage, including 5 million enrolled through the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Ending that coverage would cut off access to affordable doctor visits, prescription drugs and essential treatments for millions who are already struggling.

One in five older adults gets their health insurance through Medicaid, including 5 million who are enrolled in Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Ending that coverage means these struggling older adults will lose access to afford doctor visits, medicine and more. 

The Act also imposes expanded work requirements for individuals age 50-64 in order to qualify for Medicaid. This creates an additional burden on older Americans who already face ageism, have caregiving responsibilities or have chronic conditions or disabilities that make it difficult for them to find and maintain employment.

The Medicaid cuts also directly impact Medicare, specifically the programs Congress enacted to help low-income older Americans afford their Medicare premiums and copayments. And many caregivers—both paid and unpaid—rely on Medicaid for their own health coverage.

Further, changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including stricter eligibility requirements, new time limits and cost-shifting to states, will put even more older Americans at risk of hunger. Seven million older adults already lack access to enough healthy food.

At the National Council on Aging, we believe every person deserves to age with dignity. That starts with access to basics like food and health care. This bill puts those essentials even further out of reach for millions of older Americans in need.

This statement was originally issued as a press release by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the national voice for every person’s right to age well. Learn more at NCOA.org.

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