Worry Over Safety Net Loss: Seniors, Health, Housing & Food
by Dianne Anderson
Here comes the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act starting to wind down the Senate pipeline, set to reduce and cut urgent community health services, food stamps, public health and environmental oversight.
Adding to what keeps advocates awake at night, the bill H.R.1 – also dubbed the Big Ugly Bill and Robin Hood in Reverse – wants to slash funding to reduce access to healthcare, medications, and housing.
In Long Beach, the city is still working on its analysis of various aspects outlined within the Federal Administration’s massive proposed bill.
City Spokesperson Jennifer De Prez said they are very concerned over potential deep cuts to local essential government programs, but that city staff are finalizing this analysis and how it could impact Long Beach residents.
If passed, one concern is the Trump Administration’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026 specifically calls for the elimination of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program that dates back to 1974.
In Long Beach, she said that the program funds land acquisition for affordable housing, single-family housing rehabilitation programs, public infrastructure projects, small business assistance, rental housing assistance and a broad range of public programming for low- and moderate-income residents.
A total of 26 City staff, two in Community Development and five across various other departments, are at least partially funded by CDBG.
“While it is still unknown if these funds will be cut or reduced significantly, any reduction would have an equivalent impact on the critical functions provided with this funding. Likewise, if new funding is not identified, staff would be subject to layoffs and/or reassignment to other services,” she said.
It also will have a huge impact on access to health services.
Millions of low-income people, including children, seniors in nursing homes, and people with disabilities, would lose access to care statewide, or face higher out-of-pocket costs.
Traute Winters said the cuts would make it more challenging for people with mental health conditions to access a therapist, afford prescriptions, and manage co-occurring physical health problems.
“If people lose access to Medicaid coverage and mental health services and supports, their mental health needs won’t disappear,” said Winters, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Los Angeles County.
She said cuts would also disrupt the state’s mental health agency’s work, which gets about half of its funding from Medicaid, and
The funding cuts would also disrupt the state’s response to the opioid epidemic, making it harder for people with SUD (Substance Use Disorder) to access life-saving treatment.
“Costs will shift to communities by pushing people with mental illness into costly emergency departments and jails — instead of the lifesaving care people need and deserve,” she said.
H.R.1 passed the House with all Democrats voting against it at 215 to 214 last month, with only two Republicans voting for it. There is no set timeline, but the Senate could pass their own version or make amendments very soon.
In its recent study, the National League of Cities also warns the bill threatens important funding in transportation, economic development, and clean energy projects. Changes to Medicaid and SNAP and limitations on eligibility could strain state budgets, indirectly impacting local government resources. Added work requirements would be a hardship.
“These changes could force states to choose between increasing state spending to continue coverage for up to 13 million people at risk of losing health insurance because of federal spending reductions, or make cuts in other areas including programs that provide state funding for local governments,” the NLC said.
California Health Advocates said OBBBA breaks the Republican promise not to cut Medicare, and that it will harm mainly older adults, immigrants, and low-income families. Federal budget rules would automatically trigger $500 billion in cuts to Medicare, negatively impacting millions.
“For low-income older adults and people with disabilities, the health and economic ramifications of these cuts would be devastating,” they said on their website.
Tightening Medicaid eligibility pushes them to be uninsured, they added. Long-term care would take a hit, and repeal of the Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Rule could mean seniors, people with disabilities, have fewer protections and poorer care.
Nearly 600,000 of the 7.3 million Americans forecasted by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to drop marketplace coverage are Covered California enrollees.
“That would be 30 percent of the nearly 2 million enrolled in health insurance through Covered California for 2025,” said Jagdip Dhillon, spokesperson for Covered California.
Enrollment increased over 20 percent in the past four years with enhanced subsidies, and all that progress would be in jeopardy. He said if those subsidies are not renewed for 2026 and beyond, they forecast enrollees will have to pay more each month.
Covered California and all State-Based Marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act operate with federal subsidies and cannot replicate them at the state level.
“We are discussing all contingency plans to support Californians in every way we can, if these reductions are made. More than 6.3 million Californians, or approximately 1 in 6, have had marketplace coverage since 2014, and we will remain a place they can come to when they need health care coverage,” he said.
For more information, see:
Center on Budget and Priorities study:
https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/house-republican-health-agenda-cuts-coverage-raises-peoples-costs
Kaiser Family Foundation:
