It’s been two weeks since Congress passed the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — a sprawling tax measure that reaches deep into the nation’s social and environmental safety nets. The bill reshapes programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, rewrites housing tax policy, and quietly eliminates a host of grants once earmarked for climate resilience, equity initiatives, and affordable housing.
Some provisions took effect immediately after President Donald J. Trump signed it, while others — such as cuts to Medicaid — are set to take effect after the 2026 midterm elections. According to KFF news, the legislation is projected to increase the uninsured rate of 16 states, with an estimated 16 million more Americans likely to lose coverage as a result.
As states prepare for the fallout of Medicaid, it’s still unclear what exactly will happen in the next year or so. But historically speaking, Black and Brown communities tend to suffer the most when access to health insurance and programs like SNAP are cut. What happens to America’s youngest and most vulnerable population — its children?
According to a report from UnidosUS, 45% of all children in the United States rely on Medicaid, SNAP, or both for health care and food.
In a statement, the organization said “The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to turn its back on the American people by advancing a deeply harmful and extreme budget. Members of Congress who passed this bill have once again betrayed the trust of their constituents — including the Latino community — and chosen cruelty over common sense. This budget makes the largest cuts to health programs and food assistance in U.S. history.”
In the wake of the bill’s passage, Word In Black wanted to know what children’s advocacy organizations across the country are doing to respond. We spoke with Mike Odeh, senior director of health policy at Children Now, an Oakland-based nonprofit organization focused on improving children’s health and education, and Mary Coogan, President and CEO of Advocates for Children of New Jersey, a nonprofit organization working with local, state, and federal leaders to support children in the state.
Word In Black: How will the “Big Beautiful Bill” impact marginalized families and Black children who rely on Medicaid in your state?
MIKE ODEH: The budget reconciliation bill that was signed will create significant problems for California’s health care system. While some of the most impacted will be marginalized children and families who rely on Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California) and those who seek coverage on the Covered California marketplace, ALL families who use the health care system will be impacted by longer ER wait times and less support for hospitals and clinics.
The bill not only puts up new eligibility barriers and enrollment restrictions that make it harder for families to get and keep coverage, it makes significant and unprecedented cuts to Medicaid that will destabilize the state’s health care financing and delivery systems, restrict access to providers and care especially in rural or underserved areas, and undercut advancements in positive health outcomes for children and youth.
MARY COOGAN: Changes in eligibility requirements for NJ FamilyCare, funded by Medicaid, and the new requirement for redeterminations to occur every 6 months will cause marginalized families to lose coverage, unless the state can create a seamless way for people to report their work and/or community service or education hours. A similar issue will cause families to lose their SNAP benefit.
WIB: What is can and is your state doing to make sure children and families can still access health care?
MO: California has more children and youth on Medicaid (nearly 5.5 million statewide) than any other state, and 97% of kids in California are enrolled in some type of health coverage. This is a vast improvement in a relatively short time; in 1998, nearly 20% of our kids were uninsured.
California policymakers should make sure that access to care for children does not erode and that no child in California loses health coverage. To keep kids covered, California lawmakers will have to maintain, if not increase, the state’s investment in children’s health.
MC: Nonprofits that work with marginalized families and the disabled community are working collaboratively to understand what needs to be done to comply with the changes in the law and discussing ways that we can help the state ensure that families and individuals currently receiving health coverage through NJ FamilyCare stay enrolled in the program.
WIB: Is your nonprofit organization planning to do anything differently, in terms of data tracking or providing resources since this bill has passed?
MO: Since the bill was rushed through Congress and debated in the middle of the night, Children Now and our partners are still unpacking all the provisions in the bill and how they interact to understand the full impact on California and our families.
For example, cuts to food assistance will hurt the same families as these Medicaid cuts, making it even harder for families to make ends meet while caring for their kids. We will be diligently working to understand the impacts on real families and urging the state to implement this horrific law in the least harmful way possible.
MC: ACNJ will continue to educate our network and the community about the changes and the potential impact of those changes. We will continue to collaborate with other advocates and the state to help families understand what they need to do to comply with the new law. We will continue to track data through our Kids Count Project to assess the impact and share that data with the general public and policymakers so that they can make informed decisions and continue to work to improve outcomes for children and youth.
WIB: Anything else you’d like to add?
MO: Health coverage is extremely important to the health, development, and well-being of children and youth. To risk any child losing health coverage is irresponsible policymaking since we know that health insurance yields dividends – children who have Medicaid, for example, do better in school, miss fewer school days, are more likely to graduate high school and less likely to drop out, are more likely to go to college, and have fewer emergency room visits and hospitalizations as adults.
MC: The process is just beginning.
