How the New ‘Big Ugly Budget Bill’ Budget Bill is Slashing Medicaid – and Planned Parenthood
Photo: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
What is the proposed budget bill?
→ First, it’s big and very ugly.
→ The proposed budget bill for the 2026 fiscal year was proposed by the House GOP last week and requires no edits in order to be officially passed by Congress— meaning both the House and Senate must vote yes on this edition of the budget.
→ The bill was over 1,000 pages (1,116-pages to be exact), and is designed to be long and difficult to read on purpose. The longer a proposed bill, the harder it is to sort through all of its pieces and inconsistencies.
→ Last week, at close to 3am EST, the House passed the Budget Bill 215-214.
What does the new budget bill mean for you? What’s in it?
→ Major cuts to Medicaid, aiming to slash over $625 billion in spending over the next 10 years
→ The eligibility requirements for SNAP and food stamp benefits (more restrictive)
→ Rollbacks on clean energy tax write offs, instead charging fees for owning clean energy vehicles
→ Raising the debt ceiling another $4 trillion dollars, increasing our national deficit and debt (a move that led to Elon Musk leaving Washington, DC all together)
→ Tax cuts for the ultra wealthy and raises for anyone making less than $325,000 a year (there is a provision about no tax on tips, but it expires in 4 years— the tax cuts don’t.)
How does the budget bill affect Medicaid?
→ The budget passed by the House is cutting roughly $1.7 trillion in government spending (to offset the costs of Trump’s tax cuts for the 1%). The program taking the largest hit in funding is Medicaid.
→ Over 70 million low-income Americans use Medicaid, 37% of those enrolled are children. 40% of all births in the US are covered by Medicaid.
→ Eligibility requirements for SNAP benefits (food stamps) are also becoming more strict. Single parents and disabled people will have higher working hour requirements in order to qualify for the food assistance program each month. Over 40 million Americans are currently enrolled, a disproportionate amount being women and children.
So how do Medicaid cuts affect Planned Parenthood?
→ The budget passed by the House would prohibit Medicaid from covering any care for non-abortion related services provided by Planned Parenthood clinics (abortion related services are already banned from being able to use federal funding).
→ Planned Parenthood provides free or low cost cancer screenings, STD/STI testing, birth control access, pregnancy testing and prenatal care, mental health services, and more.
→ The Medicaid cuts would prevent the coverage of gender-affirming care as an “essential benefit” under Affordable Care Act plans and would prohibit Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from covering treatments. This includes both children and adults.
Why is this a Feminist issue?
→ Those receiving SNAP benefits would be required to work up to 80 hours a month. A majority of those on benefits are single parents, middle-aged and older women, and those who are disabled. Three million people already enrolled in Medicaid report that they are unable to work due to caregiving responsibilities.
→ Medicaid already can’t be used for abortions, but by stripping funding for all non-abortion relation services— services that millions of people rely on for affordable cancer screenings, STI testing, and birth control; you as disproportionately affecting low-income women who depend on affordable or free reproductive or preventative care— things only offered at clinics such as Planned Parenthood.
→ This budget bill would block Medicaid and CHIP from covering gender-affirming care, further harming trans women and trans people. Trans women—who are already marginalized and at risk— would face even more barriers to safety and healthcare.
This bill targets systems that protect women’s health, safety, and economic survival, while further increasing the economic inequality gap through tax cuts for the ultra-rich. We shouldn’t suffer for the tax breaks of the 1%.
TAKE ACTION
📞Call your senators and urge them to vote NO on the Budget Bill→ find your state senators here.
👉 Need abortion care or resources? Visit YouAlwaysHaveOptions.com for legal protections, abortion pills by mail, travel assistance, and more.
👉 Learn more about reproductive rights in the U.S., your state, and globally, in our FEMINIST toolkit to protect abortion access:
feminists.co/discover/reproductive-freedom-bsmph
📞 Call the LGBT National Youth Talkline at (800)246-7743 for support and local resources
💬 Text the Crisis Text Line START to 741-741 to talk to a trained crisis counselor for free, 24/7
👉 Learn how to get abortion pills by mail in all 50 states @plancpills @aidaccess
👉 If you or someone you know is seeking an abortion or resources about abortions, visit @ineedanacom @abortionpil
