Michigan News Connection

Expert: Michigan hospitals at risk under ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’

Chrystal Blair

As Congress considers cuts to safety-net programs for what's known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates 16 million Americans - including more than 700,000 in Michigan - would lose Medicaid health insurance.

If the bill passes "as is," said Josh Bivens, chief economist for the Economic Policy Institute, health providers would see a steep increase in what's known as "uncompensated care" - when people without coverage get sick and can't afford to pay their medical bill.

"And it means hospitals and doctors no longer receive that income stream from Medicaid payments," he said. "And lots of them are going to be forced out of business, and there's going to be closures of hospitals, especially in rural counties."

Supporters of the bill dispute the CBO's estimates, saying $715 billion in Medicaid savings could come from reducing fraud and adding work requirements without cutting coverage. They say the bill would also fund policies such as immigration enforcement, the border wall and extended tax cuts.

Starting after the 2026 midterms, Medicaid cuts would average more than $70 billion a year, putting Michigan hospitals at risk of closure. Bivens said the bill would shift money from struggling families to the wealthiest Americans.

"And then if you look at the tax cuts that will be received by just people making over $1 million per year, those are $70 billion as well," he said. "We're going to take $70 billion away from poor families on Medicaid, and we're going to give it to families who are making more than $1 million per year."

Six Nobel Prize-winning economists wrote a letter warning that the bill's safety net cuts could add $5 trillion to the national debt. While headlines focus on Trump and Musk, Bivens said this bill will have a far greater impact on Michiganders and the nation at large.

"And so," he said, "I think the fact that six Nobel Prize winners said, 'This is important enough for me to try to draw attention to the implications of this bill,' should make people realize the stakes are really large."